fidler crabs

[Kittycat]

Does anybody know anything about fidler crabs? My favorite LFS started carrying them, and they have the cutest crabs. I want to learn more about them before deciding to buy, though, I did a google search, but info is sparse. They are solitary animals, right, so I can keep only 1 per tank?

Edit: now I read elsewhere that they are social. The contradicting info around is confusing...

 

[Gix]

I just came here to start a thread about these, but it seems you beat me to it! My LFS has a bunch of what clearly look to be fiddler crabs, each around an inch or less in body size, in a small tank. They seem to get along, but some stores also put 5 black ghost knifefish in a 10 gallon to sell them, so I don't trust that. I haven't done much research at all on them; what intrigued me most about them was that my LFS had them labeled "freshwater crabs." Are they really freshwater, or would they need brackish water?

A small, sociable, inexpensive freshwater crab seems almost too good to be true...

 

[Kittycat]

From what I've read, they're brackish. About 1 teaspoon salt per gallon. Semi aquatic setup, too, with dry areas (like salamanders, etc) Some sources say may harm small fish, some say they don't bother anybody.

My LFS got only males, I'm wondering if they could be kept alone...

This is what they've got:

Got the pic from website: http/www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Bug,%20Mini-Crab%20I.htm
They call them watermelon crabs, supposed to be expensive but here they're priced ok, about equal to one otto.

Aren't they cute?

 

[Warr40]

I have them in a freshwater tank and there great they dont bother any of my fish even my neons they even eat the algae off my plants and ornaments
I just put a fake lily pad so the crabs can come out of the water I have 2 crabs in a 30g and 6 in a 55g

 

[oneponygirl]

I just separated my fiddler crab from my ten gallon tank because I had seen him taking a swip at my gourami and then one of my neons showed up dead (not saying I know for sure he did it but it does look suspect). I only found his head and spine, the rest of him was completely gone. Then I did some reading and discovered that they like to be out of the water a lot and prefer brackish water and neither of those is possible with them in that tank. So I went out and bought a cheap ten gallon tank ($9 something at Walmart) and used an algae covered rock from one of my tanks, some live plants from another and leftover sand from creating my ten gallon tank and made him his own paradise. Yesterday I got him a "girlfriend" as I've heard that, while they might like a companion, more than two in a ten gallon is a no-no and you wouldn't want to have two in anything smaller.

So my little guy, Lazarus, has a new friend, Mary, and they have their own private beach and island and two small piles of smooth rocks that they can hide in. I want to get a piece of wood in there too but that will have to wait a bit.