Is it me or the crabs?

**Maggot** · 10-21-2009, 05:22 PM

I decided to get some fiddler crabs. I bought a male and female at petsmart, and they were put in brackish water (with land, too). They have a heater so their tank ranges from 72-80 degrees F. If it goes over 85 I unplug it.

The female only had three legs (my guess because they were in FW), but I know they get them back when they molt, so I thought she would be fine as long as I watch her carefully. Well, within a day of putting her in the tank she died. It seemed like she was having issues walked up a small "hill" of sand, but apparently she was just dying. :\

So, seeing the male fiddler hover over her dead body then not leave the spot she died in for days, I got another fiddler (also from Petsmart), only it was a male. I got him two weeks ago, and he was doing great. He molted (though not all at once, which I am not sure why), and he was out and about. Then when I went to clean their cage and realized the big claw on the smallest male had fallen off. His leg was still there, so I guess he molted it off? That worried me. Then I found him dead yesterday. The big male fiddler crab is almost twice the small one's size (compare a penny to a nickel, that big of a size difference), so I'm wondering if the bigger one killed him.

The big one is doing just fine (I found him on TOP of his tank today!), but it's when I put smaller ones in that they die. I am not sure if I am doing something wrong or if I just have issues because they're being left in FW, or if mr. big-fiddler is killing them off, or if I've just been buying them and they've been sick. I am not buying anymore until I figure it out.

**Maggot** · 10-21-2009, 05:44 PM

I'm sorry, a penny to a quarter for size comparison. Not a nickel. D:

**VoidParadigm** · 10-21-2009, 07:06 PM

Perhaps those small ones you bought came from a weak line of crabs? You could look for a closer sized crab as a friend for the current one, but if the one in there is all fine and dandy by himself I would just let him have the run of the tank.

**Maggot** · 10-21-2009, 07:45 PM

It's possible, but they came from two different Petsmart stores. I know the female wasn't doing well when I bought her, but the smaller male seemed alright. It's just I'm having trouble finding more in depth info on these guys, and the people at the petstore said they should never be kept in brackish water. :\ So they aren't that reliable.

**VoidParadigm** · 10-21-2009, 07:59 PM

Hm. Well, it is possible that the two stores order from the same place. However as long as that big male that's left is healthy, eating, and active I still say just let him have the tank to himself, or at least until a new shipment of crabs comes in and you can find a healthy, larger looking friend.

**Maggot** · 10-21-2009, 10:55 PM

I'll just let him be by himself and keep a lookout for larger crabs, then. Thanks for the help!

**aquatic lover** · 10-22-2009, 04:51 AM

Fiddlers that are in fw, should not probaly be bought. They develope weakness and dieseses in fw or sw because they thrive in bw. Or it could have been a weak fiddler. It would be better to get a same size female for him, because males that are mature really try to pull off legs and claws from their rival male. And that may result in death. And if it's too small of a female the male could hunt it. Thats what happned with my male fiddler and my baby female fiddler. And if you just throw them in their in bw right after they have been in fw that may have shocked them. It's kind of hard at first to care for these crabs but after awhile it's pretty easy. Your set up is great, it was the condition they were in before you bought them.

**Maggot** · 10-22-2009, 11:25 PM

I'm going to try to find another store that sells them that actually keep them in proper conditions instead of your run-of-the-mill ones . I am not sure if I've ever seen a female that's as large or near the size of this guy, so hopefully she's out there somewhere! I feel awful when I see the big guy on his rock trying to find females.

Is there any way to transfer the new crab from a FW tank to a BW tank with minimal stress?

**Crispy** · 10-22-2009, 11:34 PM

sounds like weak stock. keep looking around.

**Maggot** · 10-24-2009, 05:41 PM

Just an Update:

My crab escaped yesterday! This time he somehow got to the living room. I am so happy my roommate and I found him (and he was alive!). He lost a leg during his adventures unfortunately, but he is eating and taking it easy in his tank. Is there anything else I should do? I feel like he should have anti-human germ medicine or something. I am going to get out my old tank (5g hexagon I believe) and transfer him to that, as it has a better cover with a very small opening he cannot get out of.