How To Set Up A Fiddler Crab Tank!

[jsmeester]

i have a empty 10 gallon tank and id love to get some more fiddler crabs!
i use to have a male and female fiddler in a 2.5 gal, but i was young and didnt no wat i was doing!

now, ive done some research and found a few things out.
firstly, ive read that you have to add some kind fo salt to the water? do you have to do this beacuse with my old tank my male and female lived a verry long time with just tap water! so do i have to add the salt or can i just add regular declorinated tap water!?

next. since these guys can get out of the tank easy, i will be filling the water roughly half way and am wondering how am i going to filter the tank?
since the iflter i have is for fish and only works if the water is filled up all the way?
so does the tank have to have a filter or can i just add a ari stone and do weekly water changes?

does ph and water hardness matter for these crabs?

do i have to cycle the tank befor i put them in or can i put them in very shortly after i set the tank up?

will they climb up the cord of my heater?


and for the stocking.. id liekt o get fiddler crab and red clawed crabs!
so maybe a male and female of each or would that be to much?

and i plan on getting them from wal mart beacuse want to resque them from the little betta cotainers so are the ones at walmart less heathly than other stores like there fish?

anything else i need to no?

thanks

 

[nmonks]

You need to maintain around half-strength seawater for fiddler crabs. Despite being sold in the freshwater side of pet shops, they don't live long in freshwater. In the wild they mostly come from beaches and mudflats, and would better considered brackish to marine animals. So, you need marine aquarium salt, and will be adding about 15 grammes per litre of water, to maintain a specific gravity of 1.010 upwards at 25 C/77 F. The minimum salinity would be about 9 grammes per litre, or SG 1.005 at 25 C/77 F.

Yes, you can use ordinary tap water. Add water conditioner that removes copper as well as chlorine and chloramine -- copper is extremely toxic to crustaceans.

Filter the aquarium with an air-powered sponge filter or a small internal canister filter laying on its side. You can make small holes in the hood for the wires or air pipes, and block them up a bit with filter floss or cotton wool.

Filtration is important unless you plan on doing daily water changes.

Yes, pH and hardness are important. Aim for 15+ degrees dH, pH 7.5. You should find that the marine aquarium salt mix takes care of this.

You can cycle the tank with the crabs if you want. They're quite tolerant of ammonia, for short periods at least, because they spend 90% of the time on land.

Do not mix Fiddler crabs with Red-Claw crabs! Red-Claw crabs are physically much more violent, whereas the Fiddlers rely mostly on bluff (that's why the males have the big, but useless, claw). Mix them, and the Red-Claws will kill or at least dismember the Fiddlers.

Kept properly they should be hardy and do well for several years.

Cheers, Neale