Crabs & Shrimp..can I Add Salt?

[littleme1969]

Hi I currently have Have a 30g corner tank with 3 long arm shrimp 20cms 15cms 10cms plus a few red claw crabs in there. Its Rocks and bog wood arranged up the back corner to allow my crabs to climb out of the water as and when they wish.
I was wondering if adding a little salt would help prolong their lives and if I could do it, how much to add.
As I said Approx 33guk. I have plenty of ordinary aquarium salt.
Any info appreciated.

 

[raptorrex]

though i can't be 100% certain. these seem to be Fresh Water shrimp, though they would need brackish to breed!

on the other hand your Red crab would be better kept in a brackish aquaria! i got around this one by putting a brackish pool, well 3" puddle really, in their dry aria!

 

[littleme1969]

though i can't be 100% certain. these seem to be Fresh Water shrimp, though they would need brackish to breed!

on the other hand your Red crab would be better kept in a brackish aquaria! i got around this one by putting a brackish pool, well 3" puddle really, in their dry aria!

Hi
Yes the shrimp are classed as fresh water, but need brackish water to breed.
So I guess you either have to have one or the other..i.e. salt or no salt.. you cant just have a little salt . Sorry if I sound dumb but totally new to the brackish side of things. I dont really have the room to add a** salt puudle** for them, but if I did manage to put something together what amount of salt to water would be needed to keep them happy?
They do seem to prefer to just hang out on the wood/rocks at the top of the tank which is great to see B)

 

[raptorrex]

So I guess you either have to have one or the other..i.e. salt or no salt.. you cant just have a little salt . Sorry if I sound dumb but totally new to the brackish side of things. I dont really have the room to add a** salt puudle** for them, but if I did manage to put something together what amount of salt to water would be needed to keep them happy?
They do seem to prefer to just hang out on the wood/rocks at the top of the tank which is great to see B)

well i go for about 3gm salt per ltr, though i have heard of people breeding at 1gm per ltr. seems to work ok for me!!

lol my crab tends to use the tank more as a bath than somewhere to live. spending most of its time on dry land. not surprising really, as they are a land crab!!!

incidentally Brackish water is generally defined as water with between 0,5 and 30gm salt per ltr!

 

[nmonks]

incidentally Brackish water is generally defined as water with between 0,5 and 30gm salt per ltr!

This is indeed correct, but "brackish" from the point of view of a kribensis or a carp is very low salinity, while "brackish" for a batfish or snapper will be much higher. So while brackish water is a spectrum, to be sure, you do need to define narrower ranges for certain (many) species. Only a relatively few, mollies, scats, and monos for example, will actually do well along the entire range (even if not optimally).

Cheers,

Neale