Fiddler Crabs Set-Up and Care?
by Aquaboy on Friday, April 2nd, 2010 | 4 Comments
I’ve looked around online, talked to the manager of the fish room at the independent pet shop I buy at and am now seeking advice from Y!Answers on care for Fiddler Crabs. I have not purchased them yet as I want an ideal environment for them.
~Habitat/Tank Size
~Tank Set-Up (looking for advice beyond “escape proof”)
~How many per tank
~Heat Ranges
~Salinity (yes, I know, freshwater aquarium salt)
~Feeding…. Types of food, frequency
~Effective filtration
~Tank Mates (Advice here varies from none to small, quick top dwellers)
~Should I plant the aquarium or will they tear it up (again, info varies)
Thanks in advance.
i don’t no theat much on crabs but try the library it should help alot
I have had fiddler crabs a couple of times The habitat should have a lot of hiding places: things simple like basic rock formations. When you place rocks on to of each other it forms caves. You should use gravel because crabs don’t look good on sand. Everyone has told you escape proof because they are crafty. Add some sort of ornament that they can climb above the water because they need to come out of the water to “breath”. You could probably put one crab per gallon, about one crab for two gallons is probably maximally effective. Don’t fill the aquarium all the way to the top about one inch of air room should be left. You don’t need a heating range, but if you have enough fund one would be nice. crabs are very dirty and you need filtration to filter the water. I recommend a power filter. Planting the tank is a good idea, and my experiences have shown that they don’t usually tear the plants up. Tank mates are actually a good idea. I used tetras and even some catfish. Your crabs will not attack a fish that is constantly moving, but nothing that settles on the bottom of the tank or is slow. I feed crabs shrimp pellets because it helps to harden their shells. I tried freshly dead fish, but it polluted the tank pretty quickly. I also recommend that if the fiddlers don’t work out try getting little crawfish. You can find them in streams and rivers, almost anywhere. i have three and they were 1/4 inch but now are 3 inches.
Honestly, the best way to keep these guys is in a semi-aquatic environment. You get a tank, such as a 10 gallon, and put the substrate in either at a slant, or buy a little dam from the reptile section to help separate the two sides. You put a submersible filter in the water (such as one you would use for an aquatic turtle), along with places to hide, this way they can come and go from the water as they please. These little guys will eat out of a dish that you put on the dry side, or you can put food in the water for them to find. They love shrimp pellets and frozen bloodworms and things of that nature.
If you end up putting them in an aquarium, make sure that they have lots of options when it comes to getting to the surface to breathe, but make sure that they can’t get all the way to the top as they are escape artists. (this is another reason that I think semi-aquatic beats a tank) Also, you are going to want them to be the only bottom dwellers. The tank mates will depend on the tank size you are using, because these guys need brackish water. Mollies are great brackish fish but they get too large for 10, even 20 gallon tanks. The temp should be around 75-80 for these guys. Live plants are good, but they may snack on them or disturb them.
I hope this was helpful.
I’ve just put two fiddler crabs together with a crayfish about 1.5-2″ in length. The female simply avoids the crayfish the same as she does the male. The male was chasing her and then found the crayfish in his cave. He tried getting pushy with the crayfish, but the crayfish simply fought him off, and he finally gave up his little assault. They’ve been staying apart since, with the female fiddler on top of the crayfish’s den and the male fiddler in his own cave.