crabs in a fish aquarium?

solorpower

does anyone know if you can put crabs in a fish aquarium?

any info would e appreciated.

TooManyDogs

We've had red claw crabs in our tank,


They're dead easy to keep, and great to watch. They loved the tablets we put in for the plec and would grab the whole thing! They only grow to about 2 cm too so not a danger to other fish

Lauragoesmad

Wow, those crabs are deadly looking! I take it they can only live in a salt water aquarium?

TooManyDogs

No, they're actually fresh water crabs They like a little pinch of salt but that's it, I'm not brave enough to attempt salt water tanks!

diamondgirl

just ask at your local pet shop. My sister has a crayfish in hers, the previous crayfish lasted about 2 yrs.
Its cool, they shed there shell about every 8wks for about the first yr.
Your left with the old shell & the crayfish, so looks like they multipying,lol untill uo take the shell out of the tank.

TooManyDogs

diamondgirl wrote: »

Its cool, they shed there shell about every 8wks for about the first yr.
Your left with the old shell & the crayfish, so looks like they multipying,lol untill uo take the shell out of the tank.

Crab does that too, first time we say empty shell we thought it was crab and that it had died Prodding at it showed us it was a shell but then we were in a panic thinking something ate the crab from the inside out, took ages to come up with the idea it might have shed it's shell.... Mortifed thinking about it now!!

lrushe

TooManyDogs wrote: »

No, they're actually fresh water crabs They like a little pinch of salt but that's it, I'm not brave enough to attempt salt water tanks!

I actually find salt water way easier than fresh, so long as you keep the salt levels right most salt water fish are pretty hard and I've lost alot less salt water fish than fresh water. The only thing with salt water fish is that they are usually more expensive.

OP if you are getting a crab you should make sure you provide it with a way of getting out of the water completely as they don't spend their entire life submerged without this they won't live as long as they should.

woodyman

solorpower wrote: »

does anyone know if you can put crabs in a fish aquarium?

any info would e appreciated.

my family have been keeping fish for years and my brother got a few crabs they were really cool but for some reason they always killed any clown loach he had in the tank so dont get them if you want to keep clown loach this was the only problem he had with them also one of the crabs gave birth it was really cool

Jaden

Red Claw Crabs are a great addition to any tank. They do fine in Freshwater tanks, but prefer or will only egg in salt.

A word of warning - they are the ninjas of the Aquarium world, and can escape very easily (not too bad as they are actually a land crab, and will last quite a while outside a tank). They like to live in fitted filters, so if you have one of these (like alot of Jewel aquariums) you mightn't see much of them. A sign they are doing well is that they moult.

Males have bigger claws than females, if you are getting more than 1, DO NOT get 2 males - they will fight. One male and one female, or two females would be better.

They will need to be able to climb out of the water, as they aren't too happy about being submerged. Drain some of the tank and use some bog oak or the like.

Be prepared for a nip if you stick your hand in the tank too much (weeding and such). They will eat plants to start, but generally leave them alone after a while. Any catfish or pleco food is fine. I used to supplement with bloodworms on occasion. They will literally eat anything, including dead fish, eggs.