I am going to but a crab for my freshwater aquarium and I need to know if a Fiddler or Red Crab can live underwater all the time. A simple answer will do, though I would like somthing a bit more descriptive.
2006-08-04 10:36:36 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
Leave a rock where they can rest out sometimes.
2006-08-04 10:39:35 · answer #1 · answered by helixburger 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no they do not NEED land. they will not sufficate if they live underwater full time, unless the water has no aquarium salt in it. (they need some salt but it's not hard to find a niche overlap that suites both crabs and freshwater fish.) i would venture a guess that they may live longer/be more healthy if they have both water and land ideally, but mine do fine in water.
i have two, a male and female in a 10 gallon tank with a couple fish. they live completely underwater for, i'd say, months at a time. the reason i can't give you a definite time frame is because i really don't know. when they want to get out of the water, they somehow find a way. i've found my crabs hanging from the heater, filter, top rim of the tank and underside of the lid; i've found them standing on top of the outside of the lid, i've found them in the box of the external filter, i've found them on my bedroom floor. they are very creative. (i used to panic about it way more than i do. now i just throw them back in or let them go back themselves.) they can climb anything you give them a chance to and even stuff you are trying to keep out of their reach. if they can't climb onto something from ground level (like the heater), they will climb any nearby tall object in the tank and jump off it, scuttling thru the water sideways to reach it.
while they can live completely in water, they CANNOT live out of water for long periods of time. my very first crab found his way out of the tank during the night and my frantic search in the morning couldn't find him. when i came home, he was at the base of the dresser on the other side of the room all dried out. they prefer to crawl sideways along the edges of things, so he most likely skirted the edges of my room and the dresser as far as he could go. poor little guy.
one more final word before you get your crab. they are territorial and will catch, tear up and eat small fish, especially if they feel that they are underfed.
2006-08-04 19:39:19 · answer #2 · answered by corin_li 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They need land -- fiddler crabs are NOT aquatic. See the link below for details
Not sure what you mean by "red" crab, as there are several crabs by that name. Wikipedia says it can mean Dungeness or Christmas Red Crab, google gives Red Rock Crab, Red King Crab, Red Swimmer Crab, etc. Not too helpful -- sorry.
Oh, BTW, the link below also says that fiddler crabs are NOT freshwater crabs, so you may want to read about that careully!
Good luck!!
2006-08-04 17:47:36 · answer #3 · answered by Yahzmin ♥♥ 4ever 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've done it, but I believe the crab would be best served to have access to land . You can get creative and stack appropriate sized rocks on one side of the aquarium that reach above the waterline. Beware, have a good hood so that you don't end up with escapees!
2006-08-04 17:47:19 · answer #4 · answered by firestarter 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They need to be able to get out of the water to breath as well as dry out once in awhile. as suggested you can do the inverted container, or make sure there are plants, or rocks out of the water for the crabs to climb on. they are also brackish so make sure about that too. They certainly are cool pets to have! I have 4.
2014-08-23 20:41:55 · answer #5 · answered by Kitdragon2000 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They do much better if they have somewher to crawl out once in a while. Just some tall palnts will do the trick. BE ADVISED they will escape from the tank to make sure the entire top of the tank is secure.
2006-08-05 15:40:41 · answer #6 · answered by plantladywithcfids 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Invert and weight down a clear container in your tank to create a haven for you crabs with a few bubbles going into it to keep the air fresh. It actuall looks really neat.
2006-08-05 10:49:55 · answer #7 · answered by iceni 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
have one of those crabs. i haD put a piece of the trunk in the aquarium and the crab enjobs crawling on the trunk.
2006-08-05 11:31:05 · answer #8 · answered by the fishkeeper 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they need a place to get out of the water
2006-08-06 07:23:14 · answer #9 · answered by retrac_enyaw03 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they will find a place to climb out weather you have something or not,just make sure you have a secure lid .
2006-08-04 17:41:19 · answer #10 · answered by nikgy71 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋