I am introducing some red claw crabs in a few days. I have some of my own ideas for fish that could go with them but im not sure??

Sailfin mollys perhaps??

Any ideas would be helpful! im guessing that bottom dwelling fish wouldnt work well?

cheers adam

This post has been edited by Catfish enthusiast: Mar 27 2008, 05:14 PM

Nobody then??

This post has been edited by Catfish enthusiast: Mar 27 2008, 05:22 PM

How big is your tank, and how will the crabs get access out of the water?

thanks for your reply:D

it is a 70 litre tank

with 50 litres of water

they can easily crawl out of the water from the pile of sandstone's more info on that tank is on my profile

Well, sailfin mollies will get too big and too prolific for your tank, and it doesn't sound like your crabs will be getting much land.

My suggestion is to either make the tank dedicated to the crabs, or simply do a regular aquarium without the crabs.

I kno yeah they wont get much land. But if i lower the water level any more the cannister filter wont run at all. So that water level is the lowest possible.

KK well id be more than happy to dedicate just crabs to the tank!

wat about bumblebee gobies tho?

i kno theyre bottom dwellers

but i have read many accounts of red claw crabs and bumblebee gobies getting on fine.

But wat is your opinion??

This post has been edited by Catfish enthusiast: Mar 27 2008, 06:18 PM

What I meant by a dedicated tank for the crabs is that you lower the water level, and use a sandbed rather than a pile of rocks as land. Keep in mind these are primarily land dwellers, and don't need much water.

I know now that they are primarily land dwellers, it was my mistake to pick a cannister filter which only works in deep water, but believe me if i cud lower the water i would. But i cant. The filter wont work ny more if i do.

And yeah i considered a sand bank but over an inch deep of substrate dont aerobic bubbles of toxic gas form??

The rock doesnt seem too bad there is a large rock at the top which is completely flat that sticks out of the water its big enough for a small cat to sleep on.

This post has been edited by Catfish enthusiast: Mar 27 2008, 06:51 PM

I keep my crab with 3 butterfly gobies and a flounder. I haven't had any issues. The crab does get territorial when fish go into his area, but I haven't seen any predacious behavior.

Cool, and what size tank do you keep?

Well i went to the shop the other day to get the crabs they didnt have red claw crabs so i got 2 Patriot (aka moon crabs)

theyre amazing!

i am sure that whatever gets on well with rcc's will get on the same with patriots??

i just bought a rcc and is wondering if they are supposed to move around a lot. Also if it would be okay if i put shrimp in for another pet. Or will the crab eat it

This post has been edited by RCC: Jun 27 2008, 08:32 PM

you should be fine adding crabs and any fish that are to large for the crab to grab onto and kill. I have a few red claw and a few fiddler crabs in my 55gallon tank. It is 9/10ths full with water, and only slightly empty at the top. I have vegitation and a straight up standing log which provide easy access to the multiple turtle docks above the water.

My crabs really enjoy when I throw in crickets, they chase them down quick before my tiger salamanders eat them all ;p



They are prety inactive during the day. Mine usually are just standing in one spot. You will catch them wondering around sometimes though.

Shrimp are pretty small and can sit idle as a crab comes and takes a snap at them. I don't think that would be a good idea.

I have a crawfish, one with very small clippers, he is blue/orange/brown in color. his clippers are smaller than the crabs, and he gets along with everyone.

My crabs haven't killed anyone in my tank, they have however on a couple occassions grabbed my newts arm. Never hurt the newt he always crawls away, but they do snap at almost anything that is close enough.

This post has been edited by Earthling84: Jun 28 2008, 03:28 PM

thanks, and the crabs really eat the crickets i might have to try that.

Crabs should not be kept with fish. It's a matter of time before they catch and eat them.

ive read that tons of other people have fish with their crabs, and no problems

That is completely inaccurate. I'm not trying to put down a forum regular btw. Just trying to state my experiences. I have had my red claw crab with a betta and a pleco for months on end now. From the very first day, the betta and the crab would stare at each other (betta being the initiator) and then the betta would just leave. It's of course a true matter of the specific crab you get. A lot of fish are community fish but that doesn't mean you can't get a fish that is a bully. Same goes for the crab.

I have had no problems at all with the my two fish though and in fact my crab just molt last night!

With that being said, it is possible for the red claw crab to be in freshwater only. I understand that brackish is their preference but my crab wouldn't be molting if he weren't growing and healthy either. Hope this helps

This post has been edited by gixx0r: Jun 28 2008, 09:41 PM

really i heard that its good with community fish and the crabs like to eat there waste