Fiddler crab question

W

Will_Fox

AC Members
Dec 19, 2005
10
0
0
I just got a fiddler crab and a red claw crab in my 55L tank. I have a large branch structure in the back of the tank so there is access to air with plenty of perchs above the water. The fiddler just climbs up to the top of the branches and hangs out. He very rarely is down in the tank. I know that fiddlers at the shore forage on dry land, is mine looking to do the same thing? Will it forage underwater as well? How much room is recommended for a happy and healthy fiddler? The red claw is doing fantastic, running around, digging holes under my rock pile, and seemingly enjoying itself.


Will
 
The ideal set up for fidler crabs would be brackish water and 50% land, 50% water. They spend most of the time outside of the water it seems. He will forage in the water especially fi thats where u feed him or he smells food. Depending on your fish and plants, I would definitely add salt to your water. Filder crabs do best in a brackish water tank or a tank with livebearers that contains a lot of salt. People have kept fiddlers for quite a while in freshwater but its not ideal at all. Crabs benefit from a cacium rich diet so if u can find food specifically for crabs, thats good. They also like shrimp pellets.
 
I went to a store and they had fiddlers and RCCs all in one tank with only two branches for above water access, I tried to tell them they needed more air access and that fiddlers don't do well in FW like RCC will, and the person working there said they "didn't know what I was talking about, they were all labeled FW crabs when they came in and they keep them like that all the time."

Went in next week and most of the fiddlers were dead and being eaten by the RCCs. I went over to the ignorant little (insert nastiest word possible here) to give him a big fat "I told you so", and he told me, "that was just a bad batch we got in". I haven't been back to that store, if I did I'd probably want to spit on the zit faced schmuck.

If you're not going brackish you should get rid of the fiddler (return it to the store). A fiddler crab is not suited for FW, and they need lots of above ground space. In tidal areas they dig tunnels, so an aboveground sandy area is necessary for them to live comfortably.

I've had a RCC in my FW tank for quite awhile and he's quite active and healthy, but I've also heard that most people have poor results.
 
How salty does water need to be to be considered brackish? I keep my the salt level in the tank between 8-10%, is this enough?
 
You should get a hyrdometer and look up "brackish water salinity" or something similiar on google. Also, use ocean salt, not just NaCl.
 
I've had both RCC and Fiddlers in the past. I returned the RCC to the LFS as it up rooted my plants and pulled off the leaves. They tend to be the tank "gardner". As for the fiddlers, I purchased a "turtle dock", allowing for multiple fiddlers access to an above water platform. They did very well and spent 50/50 above/in-water.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom