# Red Devil Crab / Panther Crab



## ZID ZULANDER (Apr 15, 2008)

Ok So what do you all think of these guys? Kinda cool..... I will just have to create a different style tank for them. The spotted one is called a panther crab and the other is called a Red Devil Crab. Both are from the indonesia area. Possibly from Sulawesi.


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## F22 (Sep 21, 2008)

sick, talk to cichlid bob, he is interested in crabs... i want me some too...


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## ZID ZULANDER (Apr 15, 2008)

I have yet to decide what one I am going to start with. I am leaning toward the Red Devil.


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## Cichlid_Bob (Mar 2, 2010)

Hey Zid- Where are you getting those from? I would be interested in some of those as well! I am currently keeping watermelon, vampires, batik and red claw.

Please let me know if I can help.


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## F22 (Sep 21, 2008)

^ see told you he was interested!

I dunno those panthers are awesome!

Keep us posted.


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## catfishbi (Jun 10, 2008)

those are some nice crabs, I use to keep vampires, and I learned the broken leg can grow back O.O....crazy :0


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## ZID ZULANDER (Apr 15, 2008)

these would be a direct import through one of my wholesale contacts.



Cichlid_Bob said:


> Hey Zid- Where are you getting those from? I would be interested in some of those as well! I am currently keeping watermelon, vampires, batik and red claw.
> 
> Please let me know if I can help.


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## Burks (May 21, 2006)

Very interesting. I was looking at pictures of the Sulawesi lakes and saw some crabs. They have some amazing looking ones.

Sadly I have zero experience keeping freshwater crabs. I've kept marine (Pom Poms are AWESOME), but never FW.


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## SirKappa (Apr 19, 2010)

Those are awesome. My friend has panther crabs. I don't get to see them much as they are good hiders. My local Big Al's has a red devil crab in their palidarium show tank. He is my favorite ever!!! He usually hangs out under the spraybar in the moss. I watch him for like 20 mins when I go there lol.


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## JarHarms (Jun 24, 2009)

These are certainly a change from the usual fiddlers and red claws. I've not kept devils before but the panthers I found to be more aggressive than the usual crabs.
I have been wanting to try another crab tank.....maybe I'll try a red devil this time?


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## F22 (Sep 21, 2008)

Are they fish hunters?


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## garuf (May 30, 2007)

Almost all crabs will take fish if they can. I read an article by Chris laukhaup in which he'd found a crab which by rights should be a filter feeder chowing down on tetras that slept on the substrate. 

They're very pretty, one day I'll get around to getting a crab tank set up. One day.


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## F22 (Sep 21, 2008)

zid get them, im ready to setup another tank!


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## garuf (May 30, 2007)

panthers get bigger. If you search german online shops you can normally get pretty comprehensive care guides for crabs.


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## garuf (May 30, 2007)

http://www.interaquaristik.de/aquar....html?sessID=fo04pqhpmlnk5p74j1p3jnqq5d1m9r5p
That's the best I found. 
I ordered some shrimp from them and asked, they told me take the carpice size and times it by 15 to give a good tank size for permanent colonies. The tank size they state is just the standard minimum size tank as a very rough guide.


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## ZID ZULANDER (Apr 15, 2008)

Ok. I am going to order the Panthers next week from a Monday delivery. Its strange that I have seen sites that say they need land and other sites that say they are fully aquatic. The Red Devil crabs will probably follow the next week.


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## garuf (May 30, 2007)

The site I linked is in partnership with Germans number one invert breeder/researcher/scientist. If it suggests land I'd be shocked if they didn't need it. 
Also, a lot of crabs have the ability to drown if they don't get air somehow and that's normally through dry land. I'd personally always offer some dry land as a matter of precaution and I'd suggest that maybe those keeping them as "fully aquatic" have some method for them to break the surface, climbing a heater/filter cable for example. It's also possible that they can survive but not thrive is deprived land. It's a shame little is known about crabs and those that are in the hobby often have spurious info tagged to them I wish I knew of a good book on them.


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## F22 (Sep 21, 2008)

Sexual dimorphism? Anyone have any ideas about this yet?


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## ZID ZULANDER (Apr 15, 2008)

I am holding off on getting the panther crabs until I have more information on the habitat these crabs live in. There is conflicting information on the web on them. Once I know for sure of the requirements of these crabs then I will bring them in. I am sure you all understand. If you are interested in these crabs and would like to get some please help me get information on them.


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## garuf (May 30, 2007)

"They originate from lake Matano which is one of the 5 likes which composes the Malili lake system in central Sulawesi. The lake temperature is hot and stable ( although changes slightly depending on depth). In the aquarium aim for 28-30C. They are described as fully aquatic however at least one German keeper has observed his to be active outside of water. Water quality need to be pristine, ideally with a pH between 7.8 and 8.5 (even more preferably above 8 ). The water should be relatively soft (TDS 200-300, kH 5-8) although there are keepers who are sucessfully keeping them in harder water and kH of up to 12.

Mine is currently housed in a 65L tank, temp 29C, TDS 260 ms, kH 7, pH 8 without a land area. I use 2/3rds tap water to 1/3rds RO and I use a Sera product to increase the pH from my tap water level (~7.5). I feed mine every second day with JBL novocrab pellets. He lost all his legs in territorial disputes at my LFS (I got him for free as a rescue case). He is extremely reclusive (perhaps due to his current disability) but feeds well although I have to hand feed him as he will not leave his hideout. Breeding is as yet unkown, there may be a larval stage involved (as for Limnopilos naiyanetri) but as far as I am aware no one has even observed an egg bound female in captivity as of yet."
From a swiss keeper of them. The admins of this site would be a good group to contact as the invert hobby is huge in germany and the knowledge base is vast. http://www.panzerwelten.de/main.php


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## msnikkistar (Mar 23, 2010)

Sigh, if only we could get stuff from Germany....


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## garuf (May 30, 2007)

I'm lucky to be close enough to Germany to be able to. My filters came from their and so did my t5 lamps. 

Good luck with the crabs. I'd love to see some pictures of their living quarters.


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## F22 (Sep 21, 2008)

Pm me as soon as available


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## garuf (May 30, 2007)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/39...mp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=3936027684

I got recommended this. Should be of help?


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## ZID ZULANDER (Apr 15, 2008)

garuf said:


> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/39...mp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=3936027684
> 
> I got recommended this. Should be of help?


I dont think that book has the most current information in it. I will look into it.


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## Scubita (May 19, 2010)

I love panther crabs! I had one that got really big, like 6-8 inches with about a 2.5 inch claw length. I really want another one, where can you get one?
They are totally aquatic. I started mine in freshwater, then moved it to brackish and it thrived. They are escape artists so make sure the tank is completely covered with a tight lid. 
They will eat your fish if they catch them. This only happened a couple times for me, but it does happen. It caught my avocado puffer with his claw and ate him.


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## ZID ZULANDER (Apr 15, 2008)

i was going to import some. Still not sure if I am going to or not. I dont have time to set up yet another type of tank.


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## Blupeacock (Oct 1, 2010)

I am keeping a Red Devil and a Vampire crab . Would really like to know a lot more about them. 

Much more is written about the Vampire but hardly anything about the Red Devil. Anything anyone knows about them would be appreciated. Thanks.


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## garuf (May 30, 2007)

As a bump from the amazon link, I bought the book and it's excellent, the information in it is at the oldest from 2008, it's a truely excellent book. As a reference you can't get better.


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

Panthers are from sulawesi lakes, I've also heard fully aquatic. The red devils and others are mud crabs that live in the banks of streams there, and they DO need land area. What a lot of germans do is a knot ladder which leads to the surface so they can climb up and grab some air.


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## garuf (May 30, 2007)

http://forum.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/showthread.php?t=51957

Is a good thread for basic info. Panthers are described by werner koltz as being semi aquatic spending roughly equal amounts of time on land and in the water. Most scavenging/feeding behavior being undertaken with the cover of darkness.


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## Random Onez (Dec 10, 2010)

*Any new info?*

Ive recently gotten some panther crabs and also red devils. is there any new info on them. I know basic growth and tank conditions (temp, ph level, and setup) Any other info that any one has would be helpful


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## emergent (Nov 22, 2010)

*Red Devil Crabs*



Blupeacock said:


> I am keeping a Red Devil and a Vampire crab . Would really like to know a lot more about them.
> 
> Much more is written about the Vampire but hardly anything about the Red Devil. Anything anyone knows about them would be appreciated. Thanks.


I keep both vampire crabs and red devil crabs. Their care seems identical to me. I keep them in the 70's F. high humidity, 50% water /50% land. 

They graze through the Java moss all day long and tend to enjoy catching their food. I feed them dusted / supplimented fruit flies, tiny crickets, frozen blood worms, fish flake food, Repashy Super Pig, spirulina and the babies relish springtails (which also do a great job of cleaning up all the leftover food). I always keep patches of decaying leaf litter near the water. They like to chew on it. 

I add a pinch of marine salt to about a pint of water. I also keep small pieces of limestone in the water to keep ph a little higher. Molting is when they are most vulnerable. If you keep the water soft and ph slightly higher, mortality drops off almost entirely. 

Females bury themselves in wet moss when its time for the young to hatch. Its tempting to check on them. Don't. You will see the little guys moving around before long and mom will find a new place to hang out. I seperate the parents from the hatchlings just in case they get hungry.


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## Skunk (Sep 23, 2010)

I'm interested in these too, have a tank cycling at the moment. 

I saw the panthers recently, do they really get up to 8"? I would have thought they'd be similar to the red devils and vampires that stay quite small, or have I got it wrong on both of these?


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## mbookhart (Mar 7, 2011)

*Red Devil babies -- how to care for them*

have a pair of red devil crabs in a 10 gal tank...found babies yesterday! Do i need to remove the babie? Tank is heavly planted with two seperate pieces of driftwood half in and half out of water. Also lots of snails. have removed a bunch of the snails...don't know how to care for them. they are very very small. and seems to be able to climb glass..any sugestions would be great.


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## brains613 (Aug 18, 2010)

I was thinking about setting up a paludarium with red devils, but I can't find much about their care and feeding. I see there was some question in this thread. Anybody have links to resources about them?


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

Must resist yet another tank. Love the Red Devil though!


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