Crab [not super urgent]

[iSaluki]

Hi,

Yesterday I purchased a crab from a good aquatics shop (Sweet Knowle Aquatics) and they told me that this crab would be quite a peaceful community creature. So I got it acclimatized into my tank and out it in. I noticed that it was quite confident and would eat food really quickly - unlike most fish. Anyway, I woke up this morning and managed to find a guppy caucus in the log where the crab seemed to spend a lot of time. It's the only real hiding place in my aquarium - but I have another log + 2 rocks coming today which should help.

My aquarium has: 2 neon tetra, 1 guppy, 4-5 lambchop rasbora, 3 kuhli loaches, 1 bristlenose catfish and a largish red cherry shrimp. (As well as the crab).

Can anyone give me any tips on how to lower the crab's aggression / make it less likely to eat/harm the other fish?

Thanks!

 

[Essjay]

Crabs and fish do not mix. Crabs will eat any fish they can catch, it is their nature. There is nothing you can do to stop this.


What species is the crab? I admit I don't know much about them but I was under the impression that apart from one very tiny species (which is more likely to be eaten by fish than eat fish) all crabs were salt water or sometimes brackish creatures which won't survive in freshwater.

 

[iSaluki]

Red Claw Crab

 

[iSaluki]

Here's the aquarium shop's site: https://secureshop.co.uk/epages/950...ath=/Shops/950007385/Products/"Red Claw Crab"

It appears their description does contradict what they told me yesterday slightly.

 

[Donya]

These crabs are both not something to have with small fish and also require a brackish environment with access to land for long-term health even though they can exist in freshwater and fully submerged in the short term. I would recommend returning the crab. In the wild they live in estuaries and saltwater swamps where the water is shallow (so they can climb out easily on mangrove trees, etc.) and where the water always has significant salt content. They are unfortunately often sold as freshwater, which is incorrect.

EDIT: I should perhaps somewhat correct something I initially wrote since I realize it reads weird now. When I said "significant" salt content I just meant more than one would have in a typical freshwater environment. In other words, you shouldn't try to just add a bit of aquarium salt for freshwater tanks. To my knowledge these crabs also don't want full seawater strength, hence requiring a brackish setup and not really being suitable for either freshwater or a marine aquarium.