Red Clawed Crab Question-

[NovaFox]

Hello everyone, my first time here on these forums, and just bought 2 new RCCs. Actually never had any crabs before but reading up on them. One question tho... I just got mine from the pet store and when i got home i barely noticed one of them were missing its legs, well all but 2... and i was curious as to wondering... do they grow their legs back?

 

[3ndl3r]

yes they do.

can i ask what setup you are keeping them in? They require brackish water and access to land of atleast 3 times there body size.

thanks

 

[raptorrex]

yes they do.

can i ask what setup you are keeping them in? They require brackish water and access to land of atleast 3 times there body size.

thanks

they will come back, but they will not grow back. the legs will appear after the next moult, though depending on the size and severity of the injury, it may take two to fully recover. as endler says, sorry that's 3ndl3r, they need dry land and brackish water. when young they love chicken and pellet food. as they maturer the diet turns to, mostly veg. they also like lots of places to hide.

that said these are LAND crabs, not even close to aquatic. they, given the chance, spend the vast majority of time in the dry. only playing crapping and, sometimes eating in the water. they are also very adept at escape, even the tiniest gap will allow them FREEDOM, this kills more crabs than fish-keepers do, which is saying something.
i have kept them in a community tank, and they did very well. but after the last one escaped i decided, if i get them again, i would keep them in a crab only lodge. this is 75%+ dry land and 30%- water. tank size is kinda a problem, if you want to cycle the tank you will have to go for a tank of 30g 36 inches capacity or more this would sustain 5-10 crabs. in this setup that would give you only 5 gallons of water if the water level is six inches. much less would be hard to keep both clean and cycled, imo. you do however get to see the crab acting naturally, something that you would never witness in a community tank.

 

[fergalthefish]

also make sure your tank is covered as they will escape as i found out when one of mine was walking across the carpet once!!!

 

[NovaFox]

Ah well thats good to hear. Well Im keeping them in my old 29 Gal tank, its 1/2 water 1/2 Land (kinda beach like.) I have 2 decent sized rocks inside, and a cover rock thing (now i think i need more hiding places...

One of my crabs has been sitting under the water for a while, well more in water than on land it seems, and the one with the missing legs is just resting most of the time. Im sure what im about to say is not a good idea, but I have water turtles in the same tank as my crabs, they seem to be getting along fime, they eat the same foods. I have a real plant inside the tank, the cabs seem to nibble on it... I can take a picture and post it, maybe you guys can help me more. Any suggestions about my tank so far?

 

[3ndl3r]

i have a suggestion,

as the crabs are brackish and the turtles aren't. They are not a good mix. regardless weather they get along or not. so make a decision. keep the turtles or the crabs.

if you go with the crabs the water NEEDS to be brackish. They will not survive more than a month or so in FW.

Cheers

 

[NovaFox]

Ah... now i dont know what to do... I dont have any other tanks.. i do have my 75 gal. fish tank... but the turtles make the fish tank so much more dirty... arg.. dont know what to do now.

 

[raptorrex]

Ah... now i dont know what to do... I dont have any other tanks.. i do have my 75 gal. fish tank... but the turtles make the fish tank so much more dirty... arg.. dont know what to do now.

its a hard one that, wish i could offer you some hope. but without a third tank, one of your pets will have to go, or you will need a drastic increase in the filtration of your 75g. wish i could be of more help

 

[3ndl3r]

if it were me, i would lose the turtles. 29G is unlikely to be able to sustain 2 turtles for long. most of them get to the size of dinner plates.....

 

[raptorrex]

if it were me, i would lose the turtles. 29G is unlikely to be able to sustain 2 turtles for long. most of them get to the size of dinner plates.....

possibly the most effective suggestion yet

 

[NovaFox]

Problem Resolved, bought me a 55 Gal tank (wide) for my crabs gona give my girlfriend my 29gal with the turtles, and hope she can deal with them lol

 

[3ndl3r]

wowzers. big tank. make sure its cycled and the water is brackish. you could add some more crabs now.

 

[raptorrex]

Problem Resolved, bought me a 55 Gal tank (wide) for my crabs gona give my girlfriend my 29gal with the turtles, and hope she can deal with them lol

phew that's big, for crabs. i would do a lot of research on how to split the tank, keep it cycled and stoping the land being washed into the water. or simply turning into mud. this is far more complicated than you may think. it usually requires you to add a permanent divide to keep the land back, and it is far from simple to keep the dry area damp, if that makes sense lol, but this is vital or your crabs will either live in the water, or dehydrate. that said it is a fantastic size to build a really good Crab lodge. my guess is it could keep up to 20 crabs going. now that would be a very fine display. i honestly can't wait to see the result

 

[NovaFox]

Hi guys, well my tank is pretty much set up.. my RCCs seem to be loving the tank, altho my 2 Hermits seem to be sleeping a lot.. or hiding. What am I doing wrong? Iv'e checked the humidity lvl, seems good, i feed them different kinds of foods, i have a water dish, sand/soil for them, rocks to climb. BUT I read in this little book i have that parasites are a cause of depression... and about 2 days ago i saw a little critter running around on one of their shells... is that a parasite? If so, how can i get rid of them? I rarely seem them out.