I've loved crabs since I was a kids. I've always kept them. In a reef one is limited to only certain crabs that are reef safe. But often the coolest looking ones aren't reef safe.
I just finished a new sump on my tank...long weekend of back ache but worth it.
The new sump has a 20 gallon (76 liter) refugium. Since a crab can't get from there into the main tank I decided to reward my hard work with a new crab. The fire department could use him to extricate people from car crashes...his chelae are the jaws of life!
This photo was actually taken at the LFS and is not the crab I ended up getting...I chose the largest of the three he had in...mine is a good half inch larger across the carapace than the one pictured but they look the same otherwise.
It's also very nice to have my new sump project done. It's been a huge chore but well worth it. Had to cut open the stand, drain and remove the old sump, after creating the new out of two 20 gallon long tanks. So I have 40 gallons (152 liters) for sump giving me a total system volume of 250 gallons (946 liters).
The crab is Eriphia squamata of the Xanthidae Family. They eat algae and gastropods so he will have a diet of wafers and nassarius. They are not reef safe because they will kill all the snails in a tank, they are territorial so will attack other crabs, and because they eat algae they will often try to eat corals because they contain zooxanthellae.
I like him because he is pretty large (but not too large) and because his claw reminds me of a gladiator's scaled arm armor.
I just finished a new sump on my tank...long weekend of back ache but worth it.
The new sump has a 20 gallon (76 liter) refugium. Since a crab can't get from there into the main tank I decided to reward my hard work with a new crab. The fire department could use him to extricate people from car crashes...his chelae are the jaws of life!
This photo was actually taken at the LFS and is not the crab I ended up getting...I chose the largest of the three he had in...mine is a good half inch larger across the carapace than the one pictured but they look the same otherwise.
It's also very nice to have my new sump project done. It's been a huge chore but well worth it. Had to cut open the stand, drain and remove the old sump, after creating the new out of two 20 gallon long tanks. So I have 40 gallons (152 liters) for sump giving me a total system volume of 250 gallons (946 liters).
The crab is Eriphia squamata of the Xanthidae Family. They eat algae and gastropods so he will have a diet of wafers and nassarius. They are not reef safe because they will kill all the snails in a tank, they are territorial so will attack other crabs, and because they eat algae they will often try to eat corals because they contain zooxanthellae.
I like him because he is pretty large (but not too large) and because his claw reminds me of a gladiator's scaled arm armor.
