Gouramis And Crabs

[neilw_uk]

Hi All,

I have a new tank and have some Gouramis (2 kissing, 2 blue dwarf, 1 red dwarf). The 2 kissing seem to sit on the bottom of the tank at the moment and not really do too much. I guess they are just settling in to their new surroundings.

I wanted to get some red crabs at some point, but by the looks of things this might not be a good idea.

Can anyone confirm this?

I also don’t see the kissing eat much…(tried flakes and bloodworm) although they are nibbling the plants (live). It could be when my back is turned!

Cheers,


Neil

 

[sylvia]

Crabs are a no-no for any community tank. Forget crabs if you are keeping fish - if you want crabs, get them a special tank for themselves.

As for the kissing gouramies acting like they are, this isn't normal and means something's a'miss. My first reaction is to ask just how new this tank is and have you cycled it? Also, how many gallons (or litres) is it and how many other fish and of what types are in there?

Kissing gouramies get to 8", usualy exceeding this, and are territorial - males more so than females - but this is no use as they are impossible to sex visualy. Due to their large size and territoriality, they need a big tank and must not be kept with anything too small which could get eaten. They are also known to nibble and eat soft plants but don't usualy cause TOO much distruction. Having said that, kissers need vegetables in their diet - so feed them de-shelled green peas, blanched zuchinni, cucumber etc and soft aquarium plants on a regular basis.

Now the dwarf gouramies are all the same species and most likely all male - that means, with 3 males, you should have at least a 30 gallon (10 gallons per dwarf male). Considering you also have the rather large-growing kissers, however, you need to have at least a 55 gallon if you want those 5 fish to get along (with each other or with other tankmates).

You may very well know this already but your fish don't sound to happy at the moment so I'm trying to work out just what's wrong. Normaly gouramies will try to spend us much time as possible in the upper layers but over-crowded gouramies get stressed easily and may even turn aggressive as a result and sitting on the bottom is a common sign that a gourami is stressed or ill. Make sure the fish are in a large enough tank and test your water parameters - what are they? Also, consider getting yourself some floating plants or some very tall plants. Gouramies realy appreciate things like this as they make them feel safer and also give their territories visible boundaries.

 

[daklinz112588]

i have a crab in a cummunitty tank and if you give them a cave and feed them they mind there own, however i got mine very small so if he was to pinch a fish the fish could get away just give them a cave and i have a ruler with a straightened out paper clip that is taped on, on it that i put a reguler fish flake on and put it infront of his pincers or drop it in his house (the cave) and he picks it up and eats it Krill will be good for them to

 

[consp]

Red crabs can't be fully submerged anyway... They need to surface. If you want something that can be submerged than you want to go for something such as the Fidler crab. They get their name from the way they move... as if they are playing the Fiddle. Males have one large claw & one small one whereas females have 2 small claws.

Now onto keeping fish and crabs... Keeping fish with crabs can be okay if you...
A. Have a large tank with plenty of hiding spots. This will alow the crab to hide and the fish to retreat if they have an encounter.
B. Do not keep any bottom dwelling fish, such as Plecs & Corys. They are more likely than any other fish in your aquarium to come into contact with the crab.
C. You make sure the crab is getting enough food - The mid-top swimming fish sometimes manage to nab all of the food before any gets down to the bottom for your crab. Turkey baster is reccommended if your fish are greedy
D. You seal up ANY GAPS!. Crabs have a habit of climbing their way to "freedom" up the silicon seal in the tank. Even if no rocks, wood or plants reach the surface... The silicon seal will always be there to act as their ladder.
E. You make sure you remove any fish to a quarentine tank if they ever loose any control over their swimbladder... They may sink to the bottom where they can become a tasty treat for your crab.

Crabs and gouramis will be fine as gouramis stick to the mid and top. They shouldn't come into contact at all.

Any other questions?

Hope this helps

 

[neilw_uk]

This does help thanks... I might give it a miss, as I really think I need a plec or other to clean things.

My main reason for asking this question was because my kissers were sat on the bottom of the tank and I didn't know if it was normal... Later turned out they were ill !!!

Just out of interest, do you know of any loaches that would be suitable with crabs? the tank at work has a small but very quick loach, but i don't know its name... i will try to get a pic with my phone today.

 

[consp]

Loachs like to eat crustaceans so keeping one that will grow would be unwise with a crab. Even if the loach you choose is a fast one I wouldn't advise it... Loaches are bottom dwelling like crabs so keeping them together you would have to assume they would come into contact sometimes.

I was thinking maybe kulis (sp) because they bury themselves under the substrate a lot but even then they sometimes leave their nose or tail poking out I guess no loaches are well matched to crabs *shrugs*