Fiddler Crab

[Sara0229]

(Also posted on the oddball page.)

I recently got a fiddler crab (not a red clawed crab but Uca something maybe minax or pugnax hard to tell). I have him in with my brackish fish just now (sg 1.010). I also have a floating turtle dock that he can and sometimes does get out on. I am having trouble though finding good care info on him. One sight will say one thing and another the oppisite.

He is very shy and hides under the water in some wood most of the time. He comes out when I feed the fish. I rarely see him out of the water but I know he goes there sometimes. I'm a little worried about him as I am becomming aware that his conditions are not ideal. I am making plans to move him to his own tank.

Does anyone keep these or know where I can find some good info on them?

Is his shyness a bad sign or just they way he is?

Thanks.

 

[iliveinazoo]

I owned a male and female for a couple of years - they started out in my Mudskipper tank and were lucky to survive before I got them into their own tank. I'd say SG1.010+ is about right for them. If they are feeling confident then the male will almost always be on show; standing at the highest point in the tank and waving his big claw in the air, the female spent about 1/2 her time out and 1/2 her time in the water.

After moulting they will be shy and hide for a few days until their exoskeleton hardens, if they are spending any longer hidden then they are probably initmidated by the other fish in the tank. A great tank for them would be a species only tank with a nice gentle slope to get out of the water. If I were to do it again I would look into sea grasses to make the tank a little more pleasing to the eye.

I never added any but apparantly aquarium iodine is a good addition to aid moulting

 

[Sara0229]

Thanks zoo! I've read about the iodine too but I have my doubts. I keep land hermit crabs and they need lots of calcium to aid in molting. I added chrushed coral to the sand so maybe he'll accidently injest some or absorb it through the water??? A crab molt is a crab molt right? hehe!

What was the biggest mistake you made with them? And what was the best thing you did?

 

[iliveinazoo]

I believe many crab keepers swear by iodine but as said I never used it. I used to add additional calcium and magnesium sulphate (1:3) on top of the water change salt but I couldn't say if it helped any...
I bet they would appreciate the crushed coral especially if kept towards the lower end of the SG scale.

Biggest mistake was keeping them with my P Barbarus Mudskippers.

Best thing was giving them a small dedicated tank of their own with some uncured live rock for them to hide in, especially after moulting.