Freshwater Crabs

[thejaegermonster]

I was wondering if anybody knew if there were any true aquatic freshwater crabs. I'd like to keep some in my current tank (in my sig) or maybe another one.

[angelcakes]

how about Sesarma bidens(red crab) attachment pic at the bottom,

[Billythefish]

how about Sesarma bidens(red crab) attachment pic at the bottom,
Yep thats a cool crab but thay like to sit obove water level so you would need somthing for them to sit on at the surface.

[angelcakes]

Yep thats a cool crab but thay like to sit obove water level so you would need somthing for them to sit on at the surface.
yep agreed,these do like wood just coming out over the surface of the water or large rocks, if these interest you a well covered tank is best,these buggers escape even up heater ect leads,but there cool crabs:19:

[Fishalicious]

I had one as well for a while which I constantly found running across the living room floor...they really escape out of the smallest little holes in the tank and will climb up heater cables etc. to get out... the water also has to be drained with something above water for them to sit on... another thing is they will eat your shrimp as well as any smaller fish when they are sleeping at night and close to the substrate.... mine went through a group of 12 Neons

[thejaegermonster]

Those crabs do look cool. I was mostly wondering if there were any freshwater crabs that don't need to come up for air or land.

[angelcakes]

Those crabs do look cool. I was mostly wondering if there were any freshwater crabs that don't need to come up for air or land.
to my knowledge all freshwater crabs need some sort of land:19:

[Billythefish]

to my knowledge all freshwater crabs need some sort of land:19:
Dito..

All i can think of is maybe a crayfish as thay spend just about all there time on the bottom but thay could kill small fish.

[angelcakes]

Dito..

All i can think of is maybe a crayfish as thay spend just about all there time on the bottom but thay could kill small fish.
agreed there:19: :19:

[thejaegermonster]

Thanks for the tips. I'll have to think about this one to see if I could make them work in my current tank.

[Billythefish]

Good luck! And go do a google on electric blue lobbster thay are cool to.

[AABatteries]

Fidler crabs are great. My brother got 2 the other day. 100% in water that I know of.

[labnjab]

Our fiddlar likes to be out of water ocasionally, but we haven't seen him out in a few weeks. Instead he climbs up and down the java ferns. I think he likes climbing more then he likes being out of the water

[squirt_12]

Old thread.

But fiddler crabs are a brackish water (use sea salt not aquarium salt) crab not freshwater. Also, they need either 50/50 (water and land) or 25/75. The fiddlers are on land alot and need land and water.

[thejaegermonster]

What I was originally asking in this thread was if there was any fully aquatic freshwater crabs. Some sort of crab that didn't need to come up to land. I know fiddler crabs are awesome, but I was hoping that there was a crab that I could keep in my tank without altering the inherent design I have now.

[genghisprawn]

Global diversity of crabs in freshwater (http://www.springerlink.com/content/q63470n870296428/):

"A total of 1,476 species in 14 families are currently known from all zoogeographical regions (except Antarctica), including 1,306 species in eight exclusively freshwater families..."
Of these, quite a few are fully aquatic. I personally have some from Puerto Rico (Epilobocera sinuatifrons).

Most have never shown up the aquarium trade, but a few examples (some brackish species on this web page as well) are sold here (http://www.franksaquarium.com/decapod.htm). More aquarium-trade species can be seen here (http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Bug,%20Mini-Crab%20I.htm).

Note that fiddler and red claw crabs do best in brackish water with land access.

[cocoa_pleco]

old thread