# fiddler crab paludarium



## demosthenes (Aug 23, 2008)

My biology teacher orders fiddler crabs for a project in his freshmen bio class every year, and then sorta stops taking care of them and lets them die. I felt badly (theyre _sweet_ little creatures!) for them and he agreed to let me have them if i give them a nice place to live.

So I was thinking of setting up a paludarium for them with some aquatic plants and some semis/bog plants. Would the crabs just eat all of the plants, or could i make it work?

Also, what kind of plants could i use? I'm hoping to use some draeconias and lucky bamboo or something. And i know java moss and lilaeopsis can grow in brackish water, but would the crabs eat them? What if i kept them well fed? lol


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## fishstoregirl (Feb 19, 2009)

I work at a fish store, and we keep the fiddler crabs we sell in the plant tank because there are lots of areas they can get up out of the water without escaping out of the tank. We have tons of plants and quite a few fiddler crabs, and nothing seems damaged. I think they would be perfectly fine with any plants you put in with them, and if they do eat any, I would bet they just nibble and you wouldn't really notice.


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## joy613 (Jun 19, 2007)

Most pet stores keep fiddler crabs in fresh water but after a little research I find they do best in brackish water and a sand substrate. I found a list of possible brackish water plants http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/bracplants.htm with a little experimenting I think the tank could look really nice. I noticed that one site suggested they eat algae pellets, makes me wonder if they would eat the more tender plants.

Hopefully someone with experience will come in with better ideas.


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## demosthenes (Aug 23, 2008)

well, i've got my 5g paludarium set up and running. except instead of fiddler crabs, i have two red thai crabs. They've been great so far. I have them in sand with some gravel underneath and anubias and small syngoniums above the water. Underwater i have some java moss and small wendtii, and hygros floating.

There is a problem though. I have a 20g airpump/airstone running into the water (maybe 1.5g total?) to provide some splashing and oxygen in the water. I also have like 20 watts of light above the tank and saran wrap covering the top to keep the moisture in. Even in these conditions though, my anubia are drying up! Is there anything i can do to make the water evaporate faster/more? I have the water at about 78 degrees and with a fair amount of freshwater salt (not instant ocean). What else can i do to make is more humid in the tank?

Also, what other plants would thrive in these conditions? Maybe some borneo ferns? Idk. There is some land, but it's only about 1" above the water, and the deepest water is like 2". Most of the tank is between 1" and 2" below water, with some driftwood poking up and the hill in the back left corner. I'll post some pictures soon, and hopefully turn it into a tank journal.


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## WinstonAMC (Oct 20, 2008)

What do you have covering the top of the paladarium? Screen or glass or a mix?


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## rountreesj (Jun 12, 2007)

make sure the saran wrap is sealed over the top. I've had anubias in a bag with little water and they were fine. I even did an experiment with a sword plant...I left it in a bag for about 2 months before it showed ANY signs of strain...it didn't grow, but it lived just fine. When I oppened the bag...within 2hours it was toast...


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## crimsonbull57 (Jan 7, 2009)

for your land plants, (depending on your setup) you could get some cacti from K-mart or Walmart. And if you ever add more water you might want to check out Bumblebee Gobies.


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## demosthenes (Aug 23, 2008)

well the saran wrap is sealed over most of the top, but since the airstone is constantly pumping in there, there needs to be some way for air to get out. in the very back corner there is a spot where the air comes out, because i couldn't get a seal over the cords coming out of the tank (airline tubing and the heater). i'm thinking of cutting some plexiglass this weekend to cover the top. would that work better?


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## WinstonAMC (Oct 20, 2008)

I would go for something in the area of 95% coverage of the top. My terrarium stays quite humid this way. Also, the more plants in there the more moisture will stay


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## Robert H (Apr 3, 2003)

I wrote a feature article on this very subject that is in the May issue of Freshwater and Marine aquarium Magazine. You can pick up a copy at PETCO or Petsmart.

Without re writing the whole article here, I will give you a few important bullets...

Despite some claims to the contrary by some stores and misguided WEB sites, there is no such thing as a freshwater Fiddler crab. All the Uca species are semi terrestrial marine animals that need a minimal salinity level. They also need hard water to keep their shells strong. Sand and fine gravel is the best substrate for them

Fiddlers do not eat plants. Mostly they eat fine particles of algae and plant matter, but also small fish and other kinds of protein.

Average life of a fiddler in a healthy aquarium is 2 to 3 years

They will not reproduce in the aquarium. Crab young go thru several larva stages, one of which is planktonic. They need the deep ocean to grow from plankton to crabs.

They will climb up ANYTHING. It is best to avoid tall plants. I use dwarf mondo grass next to driftwood to look like beach grass. I would not use cacti in a wet humid enviorment, and your choice of plants that can grow in brackish water is limited.

They need places to dig a burrow, soft sand, or dig under, like driftwood or dry lichen. They need water 2" deep or greater and the ability to easily climb out of the water.

You should not have more than five fiddlers in a ten gallon tank. Males will fight with each other to the death in some cases.

Males have one Huge claw and one tiny claw. Females have two small claws of equal size.


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## Arakkis (Dec 7, 2007)

Mine don't seem to crawl out but I've got a defferent species than the commonly seen fiddler crabs. Mine are Uca Vocans


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## daFrimpster (Mar 7, 2005)

You can get 10 crabs including shipping for 13.95 here
http://www.aquaculturestore.com/swinverts.html
I have purchased fish from them with positive results in the past.


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## demosthenes (Aug 23, 2008)

thank you everyone!
i know that fiddlers need brackish water, i have red thai/red claw crabs though. they need salt, too, right? Are they also Uca sp.?

I'll pick up some mondo grass from my local petco tomorrow. What else would be good? I have a tiny budding amazing sword bulb, some java moss (some above the water on driftwood, some floating in the water, some tied down to stuff underwater), anubia, watersprite, and two small syngoniums. what else would be good for this tank? It's only 5g, but i think i could make it a pretty attractive little tank if i really tried to.

would borneo ferns (idk the latin name, sorry!) do well in there? I'll take winstonAMC's advice about the more plants the more humid. Hopefully once i get a few more plants in there it will get more humid and better looking.


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## demosthenes (Aug 23, 2008)

is anyone has been following this post at all of even happens to look at it now, then here is a link to the journal:
Demos' red thai Bog (formerly 5g giraffe tank)


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## garuf (May 30, 2007)

I'll be watching intently, I'm a huge fan of crabs (snigger) from rockpooling every summer in Cornwall, UK, and have been wanting to give them a go since seeing vampire crabs making it into the trade. I'll mock up my idea for my scape, feel free to steal it if you like.


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## garuf (May 30, 2007)

There you go, I'd split the tank in half by siliconing a piece of plastic around the biggest stone, I'm thinking coke bottle type plastic with bits of slate siliconed onto it so it blends as well as possible, the land side I'd then fill with something like peat or potting soil with a coating of sand and gravel mix ontop into which I'd plant hairgrass as I know it gross well under something like a power compact and it's small in scale and fingers crossed inedible. 
Moving onto the water I'd use a cheap in tank filter just to aid movement into which I'd add multiple pebbles forming a step ladder effect between the branches (gnarlier and older looking the better) and white/pale sand as a substrate which is easier to clean than gravel. Moss again chosen for low light condition growing would then be tied to tiny pebbles and introduced to highlight the bigger pebbles. Again moss on stones for ease of cleaning, I've heard crabs are messy.
Hope this gives you some ideas. 
Good luck!


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