Red Claw Crabs

poopsydrew · Jul 12, 2007

Hey all,
Just picked up 4 red claw crab for my new brackish mangrove swamp I have set up. The man there wasnt very knowledagble about them so I was hoping to get some info from red claw crab keepers. I am keeping them at a sg of 1.005 is this ok? The tank is half water half sand and I have a bunch of driftwood for them to climb in and out of aswell. I believe I have 2 males and 2 females, although I asked for 1 male and 3 females. Any good links on red claws or any "special" care I should know about would be appreciated. I will try to get some pics up when I locate my usb cable. Thanks.

Drew

Edit-I found some pretty good links and seems like I have everything the right way except for the male female ratio which I will change. Red crab keepers please still feel free to share some info or just post a pic of yours.

littleme1969 · Jul 12, 2007

Yes sounds like you have a nice home for them there

I keep mine in a tropical set up with a large Rock/wood pile and they done really well 18months old now and they say they never last more than 12months in captivity. As long as you have seperate areas so each male can have his space their should not be too much issue. Mine did breed on several occasions but as they are not in brackish no your could survive. I love the little guys they are great fun to watch, mine sit on the top of the woodpile at feeding time waiting for me to leave them some pellet food for them, then they run up, pinch a bit and go and hide to eat eat. All very cute

poopsydrew · Jul 12, 2007

littleme1969 said:
Yes sounds like you have a nice home for them there
I keep mine in a tropical set up with a large Rock/wood pile and they done really well 18months old now and they say they never last more than 12months in captivity. As long as you have seperate areas so each male can have his space their should not be too much issue. Mine did breed on several occasions but as they are not in brackish no your could survive. I love the little guys they are great fun to watch, mine sit on the top of the woodpile at feeding time waiting for me to leave them some pellet food for them, then they run up, pinch a bit and go and hide to eat eat. All very cute

Cool

Thanks for sharing. I was wondering do you use a small bowl to feed them or do you just drop it in? Seeing as how messy they are I think I might use a small dish but just wanted to see if you have had any luck or ever tried that? Thanks,

Drew

littleme1969 · Jul 12, 2007

Dish....hhhhhhhmmm knowing their little impish ways they will just pinch the food out and run off with it..lol
I had mine in brackish for a while in an 8 gallon set up to them selves similar to what you have, your right about how messy they are, be preapared for regular mucking out..lol they can poop for England! Give them a good varied diet inc veggies frozen shrimp as a treat etc. I found its the best way to keep them healthy. But your going to love them :hyper:

poopsydrew · Jul 12, 2007

littleme1969 said:
Dish....hhhhhhhmmm knowing their little impish ways they will just pinch the food out and run off with it..lol
I had mine in brackish for a while in an 8 gallon set up to them selves similar to what you have, your right about how messy they are, be preapared for regular mucking out..lol they can poop for England! Give them a good varied diet inc veggies frozen shrimp as a treat etc. I found its the best way to keep them healthy. But your going to love them

lol, didnt think about them running off with the food, they probably would. I think I will just not be lazy and keep up on the cleaning. Thanks for all your advice and input, its been helpful.

Drew

crabberdude · Jul 12, 2007

sounds like your doing a good job! i have a dish for my guys and like littleme said they usually just go up to the dish, grab a pellet and then scurry away to their hiding places and devour it. a chunk of fruit, vege, frozen brine shrimp is good every once in a while to give them some variety. just watch out for food getting moldy in the aquarium, but oh wait....they eat that too! i don't know much about red clawed crabs but i'm guessing their eating and social habits are probably just like fiddlers.
pictures pictures!!! :hyper:

poopsydrew · Jul 12, 2007

crabberdude said:
sounds like your doing a good job! i have a dish for my guys and like littleme said they usually just go up to the dish, grab a pellet and then scurry away to their hiding places and devour it. a chunk of fruit, vege, frozen brine shrimp is good every once in a while to give them some variety. just watch out for food getting moldy in the aquarium, but oh wait....they eat that too! i don't know much about red clawed crabs but i'm guessing their eating and social habits are probably just like fiddlers.
pictures pictures!!!

Hey crabber friend,
I think I am gonna try some brineshrimp tonight see how they fancy that. They devoured the shrimp pellets I put in. I dont think I will use a bowl as they will just take it wherever lol. There isnt very much info that I was able to find on them compared to fiddlers, but yes they seem to be simlar care wise. I am thinking about trying and mixing the two species and seeing how things go. Pics will be up when I get some more time. BTW, Do you ever feed your frozen bloodworms? Im sure they would take some I was just curious as I have a freezer full of them. I will let you know if I my the fiddlers and the reds and see if it works, I will probably use females to start. Thanks for the advice. C ya around crabber.

Drew

crabberdude · Jul 12, 2007

many sources say fiddlers love frozen blood worms. RCC probably would like it too.

Maximus · Jul 13, 2007

PICTURES

I'm really considering a setup for these guys :hey:

Cheers,

Maximus

raptorrex · Jul 13, 2007

it will be good if you could add more veggie content to their diet, as this is what they eat, predominately in the wild.
http

/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...amp;hl=shopping

littleme1969 · Jul 13, 2007

I had a fiddler in with about 5 red claw in their own set up, I'm afraid It didnt work, they never left him alone poor guy even though he was 3 times the size of them. They used to mug him in large numbers and it got to the point where he wouldnt even come out for food. They can be real bullies for their size

I ended up splitting them up in different aquariums. He lived to just over 12mnths and 3 of the demon red claws are still alive. Fiddlers have a gentle nature compared to the red claw, but not sure how they would go with more than one.
I would advise against mixing them, mine may have just been a one off, but I some how doubt it

poopsydrew · Jul 13, 2007

boboboy said:
it will be good if you could add more veggie content to their diet, as this is what they eat, predominately in the wild.
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...amp;hl=shopping

Will do, Thanks for that boboboy :good:

Sorry no pics as of the moment. Will get you some soon Max.
Littleme, I am sorry to hear about your bad experience with mixing the two. I have read mixed reviews and it seems it usually doesnt work. I am going to give it a go in a few days to see what happens, I have a spare tank I can use if it doesnt work. I plan on documenting the behavior between the two species as it is kinda difficult to find a lot of info.
BTW, Maximus, Sounds like you may catch crabs soon too :hyper:

Drew