Red Crab Compatibility

[raptorrex]

The easiest way would be to just slope the sand to one side where it'll rise out of the water. You can also use a mass of driftwood and rocks instead since red crabs don't actually use sandbeds like fiddler crabs do.

Redclaw crabs are land animals! they feed at the edge of the estuary tide line. then burrow, much like fiddler crabs, though their burrows are above the high tide line, so as to maintain a damp, not flooded sleeping chamber.

to create a true crab lodge, you will need to get a tank of about 30 ukg, and split the tank to 1/3 wet and 2/3 dry. no mean achievement, when you consider you will still need a fully cycled tank.

as for if you can keep Redclaw crab in a freshwater community. i guess the answer is yes! but you will need to create some form of dry platform, and in this you will need some water. with about 1g salt per litre of water. this is the magic part, how to create a platform above the water line, that will not lead to the escape of the crabs! you can float a bit of cork. with a "ladder" from the bottom up. though the tank will need to be tall, min 24 inches and wide, or the cork will obscure too much light.
you can make an area in the lid, as i did. a bit tricky this. sadly my crabs went the way of many kept in this way, dead and dried out. i really cant express just how determined these critters are to escape. the will make openings in any hood.

 

[dizzied]

I've never seen any of my red claws burrow, though admittedly I haven't kept many of them. Though this would go back to my original statement "Crabs don't really belong in aquariums anyways."

 

[three-fingers]

with about 1g salt per litre of water.

I'm not sure that classifies as brackish water, as much as freshwater with a high pH?

What SG/ppt reading do you get? . Using that little you would barely get any reading, would you?
I'm using this salt mix calculator and an instant ocean hydrometer as a reference .

 

[raptorrex]

with about 1g salt per litre of water.

I'm not sure that classifies as brackish water, as much as freshwater with a high pH?

What SG/ppt reading do you get? . Using that little you would barely get any reading, would you?
I'm using this salt mix calculator and an instant ocean hydrometer as a reference .

yep i must admit i was shocked myself. but there is at least one breeder out there who is successful at that mix. to be honest i haven't got a clue if its brackish or not, but it works. nuff said.
Red claw crabs and fiddlers, often move up stream, into pure fresh water. i guess a little all the time, could equate to fresh some time and brackish at others.
books and calculators are for reference, but they are not law.
Hydrometers are of little use, even upping the temp in your tank will alter the reading of it. Hydrometers measure the specific gravity of water, salt is only one thing that can alter that! if you must get a true salinity meter, around £60.


It is truly hard to get "good" information on this subject. my advice, would be to trawl the net. making use of blogs and forum links. retail sites, or those linked to retailers, have a habit of being, Err economic with the truth. i know of at least one site that swears that Redclaw and Fiddlers are truly aquatic, needing no land to live! lol and one, even lists them as aquatic, then explains how to make a crab lodge, as i roughed out in an above post.

with the exception of Crayfish (IMO) crabs are one of the most interesting of tank mates. they are cheep, small and on the whole peaceful. add to that, that at some times they do the most stupid and entertaining things, what more could you ask?

I've never seen any of my red claws burrow, though admittedly I haven't kept many of them. Though this would go back to my original statement "Crabs don't really belong in aquariums anyways."

a valid point of view. however others, quite a few in fact, do not agree! indeed it is only by hearing how others do things that our hobby will advance.