Red Claw Crab

[yomper11]

Hi,

I am fairly new to Tropical Freshwater fishkeeping, basically I have 280L tank with gravel substrate and some Penguin tetras, 3 plecs and a Siamese, the tank's been up and running for 5 weeks and the fish have ben in for 2 weeks with no probs.

I recently put in 3 Red clawed crabs because my local Aqautics center said they would be fine in a totally freshwater tank, they didn't even advise me that they need dry areas to live on. 2 days after putting them in, I found 1 dead with no apparent wounds etc, the next day another one dissapeared, I have now taped up the only two exit points on the tank, but we found a dismemberd claw on the tank floor yesterdayand am wandering if the remaining crab, which is a big bad tempered so and so, could possibly have killed and eaten the other??

P.S wish i had read these posts before buying.....

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Hi there and welcome to the forum .

Yes red claw crabs do best with a dry land area in the tank so they can molt easier, they are also brackish critters and not freshwater, so you would need to add marine salt to make the tank brackish. However you already have quite a few salt intolerant fish like the plecos and penguin tetras, so right now you need to decide between either having a separate brackish tank for the crabs, or just keep it to one freshwater tank and no crabs.
Here is a good profile on them;

http/badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile101.html


Asking petshop staff for advice is always a bad idea, afterall they are just there to sell you as much stuff as they can, and most such staff tend to be students who have no clue on fishkeeping and are just doing the job for some quick cash, which isn't helped by the fact that most petshops do not give their staff any real training on fishkeeping at all since generally speaking, working for petshops is a low paid job and most petshops see such training as thus unjustifiable etc.
So it is always best to do your own thorough research yourself before you go to buy any fish at the petshop at all, as that way you will be far less likely to buy unsuitable fish or critters for your tank etc .

Do you know what type of plecos you have? There are hundreds of types of plecos, growing anywhere between 3inches and over 3ft long, plus they also vary a great deal in dietry needs (everything from wood to algae to meat etc) and care etc, so it is important to find out what type of plecos you have so you know that;
a. Your plecos won't outgrow your tank
b. Your are feeding your plecos the right foods
c. Your plecos won't kill each other as they grow (some plecos can be particularly territorial towards one another)
d. You are giving them right sort of habitat etc

So it is very important to find out what sort of plecos you have, the sailfin and common pleco tend to be two of the most commonly sold types of pleco. Common plec;

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/speci...p?species_id=88

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/speci...p?species_id=87

Sailfin plec;

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/speci...?species_id=148


Do yours look anything like these plecos in the links above?

 

[yomper11]

Hi,

Thankyou for your time and informative answer, the Plecos I have are the leopard spotted ones with the dorsal fins, they are only 2 inches long at the moment and seem to be getting on with one another fine, on advice from the aqautic centre I am feeding them Algae wafers, although they seem to prefer the natural Algae that is growing on my Bogwood and some of the plants I have in there.

My tanks is 280 L so am guessing that even if they grow a bit more there will still be room for them, however having read your reply and done some of my own research I will bear in mind what you said about them being territorial and divide them into another tank if they start fighting.

As you said I have more fish in the tank (And unfortunately have outlaid more money on the Fish ) so I will keep it as freshwater, the crab will go to a good home as I have a friend who has a Brackwater tank and he can have him.

Thankyou again for your time and answers they have been very helpful.

P.S it s the Gibbiceps plec we have )

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Hi there, gald i could be of some help, if its the gibbys that you have you will need to upgrade their tank as time goes by, for 3 gibbys i would advise at least a 6x2x2ft tank as these plecos can grow to a large size (17inches long or more is not uncommon) .

 

[raptorrex]

Hi,

I am fairly new to Tropical Freshwater fishkeeping, basically I have 280L tank with gravel substrate and some Penguin tetras, 3 plecs and a Siamese, the tank's been up and running for 5 weeks and the fish have ben in for 2 weeks with no probs.

I recently put in 3 Red clawed crabs because my local Aqautics center said they would be fine in a totally freshwater tank, they didn't even advise me that they need dry areas to live on. 2 days after putting them in, I found 1 dead with no apparent wounds etc, the next day another one dissapeared, I have now taped up the only two exit points on the tank, but we found a dismemberd claw on the tank floor yesterdayand am wandering if the remaining crab, which is a big bad tempered so and so, could possibly have killed and eaten the other??

P.S wish i had read these posts before buying.....

i have had th odd crab, just die! but keep a look out for the dismembered crab, it may just have moulted, and be hiding. its rare for them to die so quick, and is unlikely to be caused by the lack of land or salt imo!

Red Crabs are omnivorous, however they are veggi by choice. they will eat a crab cast, pick at dead/dying fish. but hunting is not their gig. that said they all have their different personality's.