Are There Plants I Can Keep With My Fiddler Crabs?

[This Old Spouse]

I have a crabitat ... 10g with sand, polished gravel and large stones, about 15 lady guppies ... and I'd like to get some plants in there that my female fiddler won't eat! She's dissected nearly every one I've put in there, and uprooted the rest. Any suggestions?

Also, she's just started eating ravenously, like she can't get enough food.

 

[nurglespuss]

How about floating plants? Harder for her to get hold of (something like amazon frogbit or water hyacinth).


Eating ravenously? has she shed recently? she could be getting ready to produce eggs (or if the warm weather has raised temp, may have increased metabolism).

 

[StandbySetting]

Anubias will tolerate the brackish conditions, and they're quite rigid also so shouldn't be eaten.

 

[This Old Spouse]

How about floating plants? Harder for her to get hold of (something like amazon frogbit or water hyacinth).

There is some pennywort in there. She's taken care of the bottom leaves, but there are still some where she can't reach.

Eating ravenously? has she shed recently? she could be getting ready to produce eggs (or if the warm weather has raised temp, may have increased metabolism).

Not for a couple of months. You could be right about the shed.

Anubias will tolerate the brackish conditions, and they're quite rigid also so shouldn't be eaten.

Thanks! I might try that. She's shredding an elodea as we speak. Sigh.

 

[Shovelman]

you do have some dry land for them to walk on in there right?

 

[This Old Spouse]

you do have some dry land for them to walk on in there right?

Of course. Hence the term 'crabitat.' They've got a nice two-level rock on one side and a lava stone on the other that has two holes in it. I just added a piece of driftwood that just floats on top, and Chester gets on there and starts playing "log roller" where he waves his big claw and tips one way, then waves it the other way and tips back. Pretty funny. Dora crawls along the length of it and picks at it for food.

 

[Shovelman]

Wow thats a pretty cool tank! The reason i ask is because of all theposts i read about peoples fiddler crabs dieing for no reason, yet they didnt let them have access to land... and i was just curious. Nice tank!

 

[This Old Spouse]

Wow thats a pretty cool tank! The reason i ask is because of all theposts i read about peoples fiddler crabs dieing for no reason, yet they didnt let them have access to land... and i was just curious. Nice tank!

I know ... it always breaks my heart whenever I go to a LFS and see the poor things submerged with nothing to perch on. Of course I want to adopt them all, but then I'm sure my little slice of crab heaven would be disrupted. As it is now, the tank shown above is mainly for the crabs, and the female guppies are guests! Everyone gets along beautifully, though. I just hope I can find some plants that my female crab (Dora the Explorer) won't shred!

Thanks!

 

[raptorrex]

we realise, of course, that these are not aquatic critters? they dont live in water, mealy sleep in the sand, under it. all their waking time is spent on dry land feeding.
in nature, sleep when the tide is in, all wet. eat when the tide is out, all dry.

 

[This Old Spouse]

we realise, of course, that these are not aquatic critters? they dont live in water, mealy sleep in the sand, under it. all their waking time is spent on dry land feeding.
in nature, sleep when the tide is in, all wet. eat when the tide is out, all dry.

My female spends 90% of her time underwater feeding. The male is on his rock most of the time, waving at her.

 

[raptorrex]

we realise, of course, that these are not aquatic critters? they dont live in water, mealy sleep in the sand, under it. all their waking time is spent on dry land feeding.
in nature, sleep when the tide is in, all wet. eat when the tide is out, all dry.

My female spends 90% of her time underwater feeding. The male is on his rock most of the time, waving at her.

very probably, coz that's where the food is.lol seriously though, a tank with 2/3 land and 1/3 water is what's needed. they, really, should have sand too.

 

[This Old Spouse]

we realise, of course, that these are not aquatic critters? they dont live in water, mealy sleep in the sand, under it. all their waking time is spent on dry land feeding.
in nature, sleep when the tide is in, all wet. eat when the tide is out, all dry.

My female spends 90% of her time underwater feeding. The male is on his rock most of the time, waving at her.

very probably, coz that's where the food is.lol seriously though, a tank with 2/3 land and 1/3 water is what's needed. they, really, should have sand too.

And ideally they should be let free! But that not being the case, I've got a really nice crabitat set up for my two fiddlers. I'm just trying to get advice on which plants would do well in there. And btw, there is sand in their crabitat.

 

[Saltyspitoon]

Ive been doing a lot of research to find out what would be good for my fiddler tank and i was thinking to add a few guppies and was trying to learn about some plants. Im glad to have found this and seen your tank already has this setup and is doing great. One question tho about floating plants, can the fiddlers climb them and escape if i have the water level filled up?

 

[Colin_T]

Hi Saltyspitoon and welcome to the forum

This thread is quite old (2011) and we prefer it if people start a new thread for a new subject. However, while I am here I can offer some ideas.

Fiddler crabs are marine/ brackish water and require salt. Most plants (including floating plants) won't tolerate the amount of salt the crabs require.

Guppies will probably get eaten by the crabs.

The crabs are best kept in a single species tank and will climb up anything including rocks, wood, plants, airline and power cords/ cables from filters and heaters.