Red Claw Crab Info Please

[AJLee613]

i just bought 2 red claw crabs from the fish store, and at the store they were totally under the water with no access to air and seemed fine, but i read up that they need access to air, so i drained some water from the 10 gall i put them in and put some drift wood to make a log that is on the surface of the water for them to sit on, but when i put one on there he quickly went into the water and never went back up there.

so is it that these crabs really DONT need air? or do they just need air on certain occasions?

also one of them like disappeared after i put them in. i didnt really look for it, but is it normal for crabs to hide behind wood for extended periods of time?

 

[JDWolf]

i just bought 2 red claw crabs from the fish store, and at the store they were totally under the water with no access to air and seemed fine, but i read up that they need access to air, so i drained some water from the 10 gall i put them in and put some drift wood to make a log that is on the surface of the water for them to sit on, but when i put one on there he quickly went into the water and never went back up there.

so is it that these crabs really DONT need air? or do they just need air on certain occasions?

also one of them like disappeared after i put them in. i didn't really look for it, but is it normal for crabs to hide behind wood for extended periods of time?

I've got four of these guys in a tank and they are always hiding on the back of the bog wood or in little caves I've / they have made.

They do need access to air and i see mine sat sunning themselves on the top of the bog wood when they think I'm not watching.

They also need access to brackish water, ideally you need to keep them in a tank with just brackish water in. However if you cant do this you can do what i have done and placed a small pool at the top of the tank that contains brackish water. Just place it next to ur wood and they should be able to climb in it, my crabs seem to like soaking in it from time to time.

Also make sure any holes in your tank lid are not too big otherwise they will escape!

Hope this helps, there are a few more people on here who know a lot more about these guys, I've only had mine a couple of months.

 

[raptorrex]

JDWolf has it covered, spot on. just prepare yourself for the shock of finding you crabs dead! well not dead, but thats what it looks like. they cast their skins at regular intervals, and then tend to hide for some time. its a shock first time, but be patient and it will reappear soon.

 

[JDWolf]

boboboy the only think I'm not too sure about is how brackish to make the pool? I assume as they are happy in freshwater they only need low end brackish. Roughly how much marine salt do you add in g / l? I figure my stock of salt will be absorbing water out of the atmosphere all the time but a rough idea would be helpful.

Thanks

 

[raptorrex]

boboboy the only think I'm not too sure about is how brackish to make the pool? I assume as they are happy in freshwater they only need low end brackish. Roughly how much marine salt do you add in g / l? I figure my stock of salt will be absorbing water out of the atmosphere all the time but a rough idea would be helpful.

Thanks

well i used 1 gram per liter, but only because i was talking to someone who can breed the critters at that level. the brackish is more like a anti bacterial bath for the crab. it seems they develop mold in pure fresh water, the salt helps control this. i believe the advice is not above 3.

i dont know the conversion but the recommended is 1.004 to 1.008 ppt. lol but 1 gram per liter did fine.

 

[JDWolf]

thanks i had a feeling it would be around this level.