Crab Care

[E_polypterus]

So I just recently caught a freshwater crab from a nearby stream, and I think it needs both land and water. I was thinking if I just used an air pump would it need to go to land?
Also does anyone have any extra tips on keeping them? because i have never kept one before

 

[Fallen_Leaves16]

Where do you live? Any pics? A good species ID is one of the most crucial pieces of information when dealing with WC animals; this way you can oftentimes get a more concise answer for care requirements. I would also recommend possibly putting the crab back; as wild-caught animals tend not to do well in captivity; and from your questions, it may be advisable to do a bit more preliminary research. As for your questions, depending on the species, it would most likely need a paludarium-type setup; and an air pump would, unfortunately, not negate this need. I've kept vampire, fiddler, red-clawed, and a few species of East Asian freshwater crab; they all preferred at least 4 inches of fine, yielding substrate (used sand for all except for the fiddler crabs; they were given silty mud), some sort of rockwork to climb up on and to hide under (used ohko/dragonstone for all of my setups; most inert porous rocks should work, though), around a 50/50 land-water ratio (75-25 for the fiddlers, but that's probably more unique to them; and the EA FW crabs seemed to prefer more water; if I were to keep them again, I would give them approx. a 30-70 ratio), at least 3 inches of water (my EA FW crabs got 6 inches), some sort of filtration system (as is standard for most, if not all, aquatic or semi-aquatic organisms excluding plants; might also add that since your crab was riverine, more flow would probably be required), amongst other things. They're really not very hard to keep once you get the hang of it. If you decide to keep the crab, good luck! Hopefully this may help in some way.

 

[E_polypterus]

Where do you live? Any pics? A good species ID is one of the most crucial pieces of information when dealing with WC animals; this way you can oftentimes get a more concise answer for care requirements. I would also recommend possibly putting the crab back; as wild-caught animals tend not to do well in captivity; and from your questions, it may be advisable to do a bit more preliminary research. As for your questions, depending on the species, it would most likely need a paludarium-type setup; and an air pump would, unfortunately, not negate this need. I've kept vampire, fiddler, red-clawed, and a few species of East Asian freshwater crab; they all preferred at least 4 inches of fine, yielding substrate (used sand for all except for the fiddler crabs; they were given silty mud), some sort of rockwork to climb up on and to hide under (used ohko/dragonstone for all of my setups; most inert porous rocks should work, though), around a 50/50 land-water ratio (75-25 for the fiddlers, but that's probably more unique to them; and the EA FW crabs seemed to prefer more water; if I were to keep them again, I would give them approx. a 30-70 ratio), at least 3 inches of water (my EA FW crabs got 6 inches), some sort of filtration system (as is standard for most, if not all, aquatic or semi-aquatic organisms excluding plants; might also add that since your crab was riverine, more flow would probably be required), amongst other things. They're really not very hard to keep once you get the hang of it. If you decide to keep the crab, good luck! Hopefully this may help in some way.

I attached a few photos, the tank is outside so they might not be very good for I hope it s ok.(critter is bout 3.5-4cm)
And I hope to keep the crab but with the identity, if it’s a hard-to-keep species and tank setup is hard and i Can’t cope with it, I’ll put it back like you said.

Also about a paludarium, I’ve never done one before so I’ll try do some research on it.

I Would appreciate it if you Could share some of tips on setting one up too if you have the time

It’s currently in a 9gallon with low water level for taking half the tank area for sand-only. And one small driftwood which reaches out of the water

I could add it into a 50 gallon (I currently have some silver dollars and cichlids in that which I plan to move into a pond) with some tetra/shrimp/catfish tankmates. I could arrange the tank better in that for a paludarium hopefully right? If it needs a paludarium depending on the species (I hope not )

 

[Fallen_Leaves16]

I attached a few photos, the tank is outside so they might not be very good for I hope it s ok.(critter is bout 3.5-4cm)
And I hope to keep the crab but with the identity, if it’s a hard-to-keep species and tank setup is hard and i Can’t cope with it, I’ll put it back like you said.

Also about a paludarium, I’ve never done one before so I’ll try do some research on it.

I Would appreciate it if you Could share some of tips on setting one up too if you have the time

It’s currently in a 9gallon with low water level for taking half the tank area for sand-only. And one small driftwood which reaches out of the water

I could add it into a 50 gallon (I currently have some silver dollars and cichlids in that which I plan to move into a pond) with some tetra/shrimp/catfish tankmates. I could arrange the tank better in that for a paludarium hopefully right? If it needs a paludarium depending on the species (I hope not )

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Unfortunately, I have no clue what species your crab is- from the way it's supporting it's body, I would assume that the crab is more aquatic than terrestrial, but then again I'm not sure. I think a 9G should be okay for now; but if he does grow maybe 2-3 times his current size, an upgrade might be better. A full-sand substrate and some large river stones of some sort should replicate his habitat better, and sloping some of the sand and rocks into an area where he could escape the water would most likely be better for the crab (basically a paludarium- paludariums are mainly just tanks with a stable, permanent land section for any inhabitants that may benefit from the land). Since it is supposedly a riverine species, some sort of decent flow would probably need to be present- either a small pump or a relatively strong filter should do (or both; some sort of filter would most likely be necessary anyhow). If you can bring the crab inside in a colder room, it may fare better that way; outside, temperature shifts may occur more dramatically and could kill the crab. Out of concern for both the crab and the fish, the crab should ideally be kept alone. As for feeding, most crabs in my experience aren't very picky about what they eat- fish pellets, dried krill, worms, and some sort of plant material are all often readily accepted. Sorry for the late reply- hope this helps!

 

[E_polypterus]

Unfortunately, I have no clue what species your crab is- from the way it's supporting it's body, I would assume that the crab is more aquatic than terrestrial, but then again I'm not sure. I think a 9G should be okay for now; but if he does grow maybe 2-3 times his current size, an upgrade might be better. A full-sand substrate and some large river stones of some sort should replicate his habitat better, and sloping some of the sand and rocks into an area where he could escape the water would most likely be better for the crab (basically a paludarium- paludariums are mainly just tanks with a stable, permanent land section for any inhabitants that may benefit from the land). Since it is supposedly a riverine species, some sort of decent flow would probably need to be present- either a small pump or a relatively strong filter should do (or both; some sort of filter would most likely be necessary anyhow). If you can bring the crab inside in a colder room, it may fare better that way; outside, temperature shifts may occur more dramatically and could kill the crab. Out of concern for both the crab and the fish, the crab should ideally be kept alone. As for feeding, most crabs in my experience aren't very picky about what they eat- fish pellets, dried krill, worms, and some sort of plant material are all often readily accepted. Sorry for the late reply- hope this helps!

Hmm I see. Well I thought about a paludarium now and a separate filter and all for it and thought I’ll put it back to the stream because it sounds like a lot of work and since I’d have to keep the crab alone.
Thanks a lot for your advice , appreciate it
(Did what you recommended in the end lol)

 

[andyroo]

If you're near'ish to me, that looks like the local riparian sally lightfoot... and it'll not be happy without a beach, or at least a lot of emergent branches. They don't seem to drown, but spend a lot of time on the line & cables until they get either gobbled or make their escape.

Sorry, did you say where you are? Location of collection is going to be key to even preliminary ID
There are more & erring to fully-aquatic sally lightfoots, including cave species, thuogh I dont' know the differnces...

 

[E_polypterus]

Sorry, did you say where you are? Location of collection is going to be key to even preliminary ID

yes, i m from Sri lanka.

happy without a beach

i found it in a stream though

 

[andyroo]

Then I think I/we will be learning from you, E_polypterus
You might do Ok to start looking for academic articles on SriLankan freshwatr & estuarine decapods/crabs - will give you a general idea of habitat & mayeb use, seasons & food, & from there you can develop your husbandry scheme.
Papers should be online, along with informal & citizen-science stuff that may be easier to get through.
... and please keep us posted!!!

 

[E_polypterus]

Then I think I/we will be learning from you, E_polypterus
You might do Ok to start looking for academic articles on SriLankan freshwatr & estuarine decapods/crabs - will give you a general idea of habitat & mayeb use, seasons & food, & from there you can develop your husbandry scheme.
Papers should be online, along with informal & citizen-science stuff that may be easier to get through.
... and please keep us posted!!!

but i was going to return it back to its home, i still didnt find time to go back, though i feel like keeping it now lol. but, i did some research on sri lankan crabs as well, and on average saysmost species are endemic but, those species are not allowed to be kept at home, right?
anyway from what i have been experienceing upto now with , it eats rice grains (didnt have any other sinking foods) , and also, it brreaks down the small driftwood i kept for it in the tank, when i did water changes everytime i saw there were pieces of small broken chunks lol
so i removed that and kept the rocks only instead, not sure if thats normal with other freshwater crabs lol