Crabs: which ones to get?

[Rafini]

Hey guys, I have a 25g aquarium that I have been attempting to stock for a while now. It currently has 2 kubotai loaches and a blue gourami in it. They were in my 120 cichlid tank getting neglected a little so I`m just feeding them up before I move them into my planted 75g community.

I wanted to do a slope of sand on one side with a piece of wood or two giving some more territory. from what I have read about common types of crabs I have two options which I am happy with.

Red claw crabs
Fiddler crabs

I would prefer to have more of a water section, so I am thinking red claws might be the better option in that situation? how many crabs should I get and at what SG should I move my salinity up to? I hear they both come from brackish environments

 

[chazwood918]

I would say that either crab will work for you assuming that your loaches aren't incredibly small. Although a 25 gallon tank size does scare me a bit just because with loaches competing with crabs for the minimal amount of space along the substrate, you likely will see one species become very secluded. I'm sure you won't see anything killed but stress levels may end up being your concern.

 

[burntrubber]

I think he did mention moving the fish out at some point.

 

[Oddball]

What about a fully aquatic crab species like the Thai micro-crab? You could have a good size breeding colony in a tank of that size.

 

[ECW]

What about a fully aquatic crab species like the Thai micro-crab? You could have a good size breeding colony in a tank of that size.

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Cool!

 

[fishfanatic80]

What about a fully aquatic crab species like the Thai micro-crab? You could have a good size breeding colony in a tank of that size.

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I just ordered 3 micro Thai crabs off of bobs tropical plants, any tips you could give me oddball on care that isn't on a care sheet. Sorry for the derail op I figured if you were interested in the crabs it can help us both out

 

[Deadliestviper7]

Or watermelon fiddler crabs and vampire crabs ?

 

[fishfanatic80]

Or watermelon fiddler crabs and vampire crabs ?

Koji has a vampire crab tank thread that's really nicely set up, maybe send him a pm for some extra tips

 

[TroyMIfishkeeper]

I keep both red claws and fiddler crabs in my alligator snapping turtle's tank. I originally started putting them in as feeders but my snapper won't touch them, so now they just sort of live in there.
Although they're both supposed to come from brackish environments, mine have done perfectly fine in full freshwater.
I'm not sure how commonly people keep mixed species crab tanks, but as long as they are close in size I believe they should be fine, if that's something you're interested in. I've never tried any of the fancy ones like vampires, etc but it would be interesting to see how they do.
Keep note that the red-claws are more aquatic than the fiddlers. But even the fiddlers only really need some rocks, driftwood, shallow water, or floating/marginal plants to climb out on. I don't see why people recommend an entire land area.

 

[Yohanon]

What about a fully aquatic crab species like the Thai micro-crab? You could have a good size breeding colony in a tank of that size.

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Will crabs damage plants like staurogyne repens?