Red Claw Crab Help

[i3lade4life]

Last week I purchased 3 RCC's, but then the other day I noticed a lot of broken up crab shell at the bottom of my tank. After inspection I noticed that there is no meat or flesh inside the shells. Is this likely to be a moult or a death? Unfortunately it is not easy for me to count live crabs as there are loads of hiding places

 

[ZoddyZod]

what else is in the tank?

Are you keeping them in brackish water with plenty of access to land?

could be a moult, or could be a dead one that the others have scavenged from?

 

[i3lade4life]

I have a mudskipper and a knight goby in with the crabs.

 

[Gilli]

Its likely that you have lost some because they should be kept singly as they display aggression to other Red Claw Crabs. They will consume their old shells to regain necessary calcium lost in the molting process, so the fact that you are seeing a lot of broken shells suggests you may have lost some. Molting is a very stressful period for crabs and many die under the stress, also they are very vulnerable shortly after molting and they are likely to be eaten by other crabs.

 

[i3lade4life]

Well I decided to strip all of the stonework out of the tank and I have found all 3 crabs. I have even found a full moult. Still not sure which 1 the bits of shell came from..... but its all good news. Ive also discovered that I have 1 male and 2 females. So hopefully there wont be too many fights as there is a lot of land space for them all.
Im a happy fella now

 

[car.crash]

the local shops i have seen selling these crabs have loads per tank. so if they are not to be in groups when do they advertise it? so confusing for the buyer.

 

[ZoddyZod]

the local shops i have seen selling these crabs have loads per tank. so if they are not to be in groups when do they advertise it? so confusing for the buyer.

welcome to the world of fishkeeping!

sadly the store tanks arean't always displaying the best way to keep any fish/inverts. For example you will rarely see red claws in brackish tanks with land access in any fish shop.

 

[Gilli]

the local shops i have seen selling these crabs have loads per tank. so if they are not to be in groups when do they advertise it? so confusing for the buyer.

Its the same as aggressive fish really that shouldnt be kept in numbers but are in fish shops - as the tanks are so bare and there are so many of them they dont get territorial. Once you get them in a less crowded tank and a more natural environment they claim their space and thats when the fighting starts.

 

[car.crash]

the local shops i have seen selling these crabs have loads per tank. so if they are not to be in groups when do they advertise it? so confusing for the buyer.

Its the same as aggressive fish really that shouldnt be kept in numbers but are in fish shops - as the tanks are so bare and there are so many of them they dont get territorial. Once you get them in a less crowded tank and a more natural environment they claim their space and thats when the fighting starts.

that makes perfect sense

 

[Gilli]

Well I decided to strip all of the stonework out of the tank and I have found all 3 crabs. I have even found a full moult. Still not sure which 1 the bits of shell came from..... but its all good news. Ive also discovered that I have 1 male and 2 females. So hopefully there wont be too many fights as there is a lot of land space for them all.
Im a happy fella now

Well I wish you luck on that one - because they are still very territorial and just because you have females doesnt mean they wont fight, so I would keep an eye on them. You have more of a chance with one male and 2 females but like any creature it depends on the temprement, and if you are wrong and you have 2 males they will fight — often to the death.