Fiddler Crab Setup

[tootie123]

What salinity level will they need? WIll it harm them if I put them right in the tank? Im planning on getting mine tomorrow. What type of foods do they eat? Still dont know how many to get.

[squirt_12]

about the salinity i am not sure. I just put about 1/2 a teaspoon per gallon. But you should get someone else to clarify that for you.

I feed mine crab cusine (by hakari), shrimp pellets, veggie rounds, flake food, pellets, bloodworms (frozen), brine shrimp (frozen), they will pretty well eat anything.

it is the 20g right??? if so you can get about 4-6.

[tootie123]

Im gonna go with what you do for your salinity. Im gonna get a 5 gallon bag of sea salt and get more when needed. So all I have to do is get like 2-3 gallons of water at 1/2 teaspoon per gallon and mix it together and let the salt sit. Im gonna make a stop by Lowes or Home Depot and see if they have any sand. With a big bag of sand like they have I wont need more for a long time. Squirt_12 did you use a filter with your setup or do you perform waterchanges every few days. Do they need a container to hold their food? And the tank is the 10 gallon. Im gonna use the 20 gallon long after I see how the 10 gallon setup goes. So how many in the 10 gallon?

[tootie123]

I was at Petco and they have a hydrometer that looks like a thermometer that bobs in the water. They also have one that you fill with water. Which one would be better to use?

[squirt_12]

i would use the one you fill with water.

I use a reptofilter in my tank and it works like magic....the water is crystal clear. I just got it so before i got it i used to do water changes every 3 days, and since you wotn have very much water...i used air line hose to perform the water changes and to get the debris off of the sand. TO get the debris off of the sand...hold the tube about 1 inch (or as close as you can get without sucking up sand) and the debris will come right into the tube.

EDIT - you can get 2-3 in a 10g

[tootie123]

I recently chatted with a friend who has fiddlers and he uses gravel for the substrate. He said it works fine and they dont seem to be bothered by it.

[tootie123]

I just looked up the playsand online at Lowes. Its the Quikrete brand and its 50lbs of sand. The website says its been sterilized, strained and screened. Its usually $5.07, but where I live its $3.35. Thats a great deal. Im not gonna let that offer go. I'll be making a stop by there either today or saturday. And I'll save money because I was gonna buy a bag of sand that they sell at the Petco that cost like $15.

[tootie123]

Anyone there?

[squirt_12]

ok well once you ge tthe sand....clean it out AS GOOD AS YOU CAN.....and until the water in the bucket is crystal clear. If you don't...then the water in the tank is going to be borwn and you wont beable to see anything.

The fiddlers may seem to be fine in the gravel but they don't like it as much because they can't play around in it and dig in it. thats why most people use sand.

[tootie123]

I'll be getting mine today! There should really be a fiddler crab forums somewhere.