vampire crabs
- Thread starter jpcampbell123
- Start date
i am interested in these does anyone keep them here? i have never kept many true fresh water crabs much only have a kept the orange land crabs and hermit crabs over the years one of our hermits laid eggs in the water bowel but they didnt make it was way before we had sw set ups going
Vampire crab (Geosesarma sp.)
manuel.brossard
22 April 2014
The Vampire Crabs, belonging to the Geosesarma genre, are little crabs originating from Sulawesi. They grow up to 20-25mm of shell size and are very colourful.
Recently discovered, they have the particularity to be the only crabs able to breed only in fresh water.
Since a few years, they are frequently imported because this little crab has been such a success in the hobby.
These crabs don’t feed on blood, off course not. Their nickname “vampire” comes from the color of their eyes and the fact that they hunt with voracity at twilight…
Description
Small sized and colorful, there are several species described so far and some of them don’t have any scientific name yet.
Origin
They come from Sulawesi in Indonesia.
Natural habitats
Apparently next to little streams or pools in the rainforests.
Adult size
Around 25mm of shell size (1”
.Activity
Mostly nocturnal but they are active during the day sometimes. It just depends on their shyness, directly linked to their health and the terrarium adjusting.
Life span
No data available yet.
Population
No data available yet.
Protection
Most of the species are not even described. So they are not protected.
Housing
Simple, we keep them the same way as with the dart frogs. The only difference remains in their need of a small aquatic area for their molt.
Temperatures
Day: 24-28°C (75-82°F) / Night: 20-24°C (68-75°F)
Hygrometry
80-100%
Lighting
12h a day.
I think a UV light is a key point to help them succeed in molting.
Diet
After trying all sorts of food with a poor success or no success, I started giving them both live and dead insects… Clearly they are hunters !
These guys are real darts when they catch fruit flies. They are greedy.
For example, I had a bunch of youngsters freshly come out of the water which exterminated my springtails population in a few weeks. Before that, hundreds of springtails swarmed in the terrarium. I had around 20 crabs only…
I fed them essentially with fruit flies, both youngsters and adults. The smaller fed on springtails. Once in a while I gave them freshly killed flies or crickets.
Note: I suspect them of being cannibalistic when the food becomes too rare. This is yet to be verified.
Terrarium size
Yes you read “terrarium” and not “aquarium”. Indeed the Geosesarma are terrestrial crabs. They never go to the water except for molting or dumping their babies.
The adjusting of the terrarium and the size of the population will highly influence the necessary space. I highly recommend putting a bushy litter of dead leaves on the floor. Because the insect populations will more easily set up a culture. And, because the crabs will have more space to set up their territories. Be aware that you must avoid territorial competition because you may find someday a crab missing a claw…
Then, the Geosesarma (sp.) like to climb ! This is why installing textured backgrounds (cork, xaxim, coco fiber…
easier to climb with claws is ideal. They will climb in the plants too.If you follow this advice, you will be likely to put 5-6 crabs in a 50x50x50cm (20x20x20 inches) tank.
Important: one thing you should never forget when keeping these crabs is an aquatic area. No need to have a large one, the crabs will just go over it to molt. You just need the height to be higher than their shell. All the crabs I lost were dead when trying to molt at the right moment and this area was dry… Don’t make the same mistake.
Breeding
Breeding the Vampire Crabs is easy and they are quite prolific.
Adult age
After they grow sub-adult (their shell got its final colour) it took my crabs 6-8 months to breed. So I would say around 1 year-old.
Sexing crabs
Sexing them is really easy because males have larger claws than the females.
On top of that and just like any other crab, the females have a large “tail” whereas the males have a skimpy one.
Conditioning
There is no special conditioning to follow to breed them, according to my experience.
Embryonic development
The eggs hatch directly under the female abdomen. She carries the young crabs until she dump them in a pool. At this moment, they are the size of a fruit fly.
Housing newborns
The young larvae are dark and they get their color progressively. We keep them the same way as the adults but they spend much more time in the water or near the edge.
Off course, you will have to give them a food proportionally adapted to their size. The youngest, which are still aquatic and in the water, will feed on fish or crustacean pellets. Then they will hunt small prey such as springtails and progressively start eating fruit flies.
Conclusion
These crabs are really cool. Interesting, easy to keep, and quite prolific.
Just like the dart frogs, they allow us to build some tropical planted terrariums which are as pleasant to look at as their pensionaries.
Warning, be aware that a large majority of the available Vampire Crabs originates from imports. I seriously discourage people from purchasing wild pets. Firstly for an obvious ethic reason and also because the imported specimens are more fragile and may host diseases or parasites which may represent a danger for your other pets.
