Can I Keep Crabs...terrapins Or Anything Similar With My Fish?

[SM8]

Just wondering are there any "cool" things i can keep along side my fish.....i used to have African dwarf frogs which i absolutely loved but due to me being a tall tank i dont think they will be suited to it very well and might get tired out having to take breaths etc...

so just wondered is there any kind of aquatic crab that i can keep with my fish that obviously wont kill them or cause any harm to the bottom feeders etc?

or some kind of terrapin?

just wondered what the options are .....i dont really want snails....and shrimp ive never thought about but if they look good i might give it a go !

 

[This Old Spouse]

I have a pair of fiddler crabs with my female guppies that I really like. They've never caused any problems or tried to escape (although the female used to scare me on a regular basis by hiding in the filter). But it sounds like they wouldn't work in your tall tank. I'd look at some cherry shrimp.

 

[SM8]

I have a pair of fiddler crabs with my female guppies that I really like. They've never caused any problems or tried to escape (although the female used to scare me on a regular basis by hiding in the filter). But it sounds like they wouldn't work in your tall tank. I'd look at some cherry shrimp.

any reason why the crabs wouldn't be so good in the tall tank?....and if they escape that might not be a good idea !

the cherry shrimp are beautiful...and i really like them...but maybe not such a good idea after all...a quick search and apparently my betta will eat the cherry shrimp !!

any other ideas lol

 

[This Old Spouse]

The crabs like to forage on the substrate, but need to get to the surface for lengthy periods of time as well, so there has to be a way for them to be able to get all the way to the top. They can't swim, so you need to provide a way for them to climb all the way to the water surface.

I have mine in a 10g tank where there are two large stones that they can crawl up and get to the surface to "sunbathe" all they like. The tank is only about 2/3 to 3/4 full of water, and the stones are set in such a way that the crabs don't have a chance to escape unless they try really, really hard. So far, so good.

And btw, for those of you who think I should be keeping the crabs and guppies together, I tried giving the crabs their very own tank. The female became very listless after a couple of days. At the end of a week she'd stopped eating and moving around altogether and I thought I'd lose her. Back in the guppy tank and she immediately went back to her old self. This tells me they're very social creatures and don't do well on their own, but it may just be Dora the Explorer. Chester the Molester just molted for the first time (yippee!) so I know he's doing all right as well.

Sorry about the cherry shrimp suggestion. I really don't know about them.

 

[SM8]

The crabs like to forage on the substrate, but need to get to the surface for lengthy periods of time as well, so there has to be a way for them to be able to get all the way to the top. They can't swim, so you need to provide a way for them to climb all the way to the water surface.

I have mine in a 10g tank where there are two large stones that they can crawl up and get to the surface to "sunbathe" all they like. The tank is only about 2/3 to 3/4 full of water, and the stones are set in such a way that the crabs don't have a chance to escape unless they try really, really hard. So far, so good.

And btw, for those of you who think I should be keeping the crabs and guppies together, I tried giving the crabs their very own tank. The female became very listless after a couple of days. At the end of a week she'd stopped eating and moving around altogether and I thought I'd lose her. Back in the guppy tank and she immediately went back to her old self. This tells me they're very social creatures and don't do well on their own, but it may just be Dora the Explorer. Chester the Molester just molted for the first time (yippee!) so I know he's doing all right as well.

Sorry about the cherry shrimp suggestion. I really don't know about them.

thanks for the help thats really beneficial !....dont worry about the cherry shrimp i didnt have a clue either lol ...the crabs seem like a cool idea but i cant have the water too low because of my external built in filter...it requires the water to be quite high ...is there any type of fully aquatic crab that wont need to come to the surface

i just really want something interesting and always have loved crabs...i would keep my african dwarf frogs as ive always had them in every tank ive ever had but this tank might be a little too tall for them unfortunately

 

[This Old Spouse]

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thanks for the help thats really beneficial !....dont worry about the cherry shrimp i didnt have a clue either lol ...the crabs seem like a cool idea but i cant have the water too low because of my external built in filter...it requires the water to be quite high ...is there any type of fully aquatic crab that wont need to come to the surface

i just really want something interesting and always have loved crabs...i would keep my african dwarf frogs as ive always had them in every tank ive ever had but this tank might be a little too tall for them unfortunately
[/quote]

I don't know much about the ADFs, but it would seem that if you've kept them successfully in the past this tank should work too. I always try to think about conditions where they're from, and surely they'd have to swim that deep in the wild, right? Or am I way off base?

 

[SM8]

well thats true i guess...ive always had them in the past without any problems...but its just that everywhere i went they all said dont put them in the tank as they could get tired swimming to the surface and back etc.......now whether this is true im not sure...but the point in the wild youve just made is a very good point..they must not live in super shallow water...or maybe they do

hmm im going to investigate this a little further as i love them

 

[This Old Spouse]

That just doesn't seem right, that they'd get tired so easily? There's a member on here that knows pretty much everything about ADFs. Let me see if I can find her.

I'd love to keep ADFs but I think my smaller fish would start disappearing!

 

[SM8]

ah unfortunately they shouldn't be kept in anything higher than 15 inches....it says they get tired ...maybe its because they are small and fairly week and possibly in the wild they might live in shallow areas...

they also dont eat fish or anything !! thats the african clawed frog thats a bit dangerous
cant have shrimp, crabs, frogs...not sure whats left !

 

[This Old Spouse]

Jenste and inchworm are the two people that I think know the most about frogs. I'd check on the forum about amphibians and see what you can find. Sorry I couldn't be more help!

 

[This Old Spouse]

Just reading up on the ADFs because I'm becoming interested for my own tank! The info I saw said that depths of up to 24" could be tolerated, but of course they need to get to the surface occasionally to breathe. They sound mighty interesting!

 

[lilfishie]

if you get larger shrimps they should be fine with your betta, i have kept Amano/Algae shrimp with bettas in the past

 

[SM8]

Just reading up on the ADFs because I'm becoming interested for my own tank! The info I saw said that depths of up to 24" could be tolerated, but of course they need to get to the surface occasionally to breathe. They sound mighty interesting!

hmm 24" is more than enough....everywhere ive read its normally around 15 inches....i might have another look into this

if you get larger shrimps they should be fine with your betta, i have kept Amano/Algae shrimp with bettas in the past

thanks ill check these out right now !

 

[This Old Spouse]

It's what I found on Wikipedia. Their natural habitat gets flooded regularly and that's how deep the water gets, apparently.

 

[SM8]

hmm...im visiting the fish store in about five mins time so im going to have a good search for all the frogs crabs and shrimp and get a good low down on them as i definitely want something if i can have it....

thanks for all the help btw you have been seriously helpful !! much much appreciated...ill let you know my findings when i get back