Freshwater Red Clawed Crabs?

Question

Okay, so this is a very crazy question, and I've tried researching it on the internet, but haven't had any luck... I bought three red clawed crabs at PetsMart about a month ago and until last week, they were all living. Last week I walked into the room and saw one of the crabs was completely orange... at first I thought, okay, maybe it molted... I didn't know what it looked like when the crabs molted, so that was my assumption. I looked around though, and only saw two other crabs. It had died and turned orange (why?). I flushed it down the toilet. Last night, I walked into the room again and I was adding some extra water into the tank when out from under a large rock, a third crab sprints acrossed the tank. It's just a little smaller than the other two, and a littler smaller than the one that died... but it wasn't in my tank before this... can anybody explain this to me?

Answer 1

I'd have to say one of the crabs molted and you might have thrown away the shed exoskeleton (which is why it was pale - nobody home inside!), or someone is playing a trick on you or bought you a replacement.

When crabs, shrimp, and other crustaceans die, the shed can look very much like the original animal, and you sometimes have to look very closely to notice the shed is empty. When i first bought peppermint shrimp for my saltwater tank, I though one had died, but it turned out it was just the outer skin. I've been through this now with crayfish, several shrimp and crab species, and a tarantula. When they molt, they're vunerable to predators, so they'll often hide until the exoskeleton underneath hardens. But the animal will get bigger each time. Maybe one of the two you were seeing had been the one that molted and the third crab was just hiding somewhere in the tank.

Be sure you're adding a little salt to their tank - they shouldn't be in freshwater, even though they're usually sold that way - they'll do a lot better for you. And give them a place where they can get completely out of the water, but be careful - these guys are escape artists!

Answer 2

deliver him back immedietly. you don't understand a thank you to look after a pink clawed crab. at the start: pink clawed crabs want BRAKISH water, greater salt than a freshwater, decrease than a saltwater. pink clawed crabs want 0.5 land, 0.5 water. they want SAND, not GRAVEL. they want a vierity of meals. The sand ought to be two times as deep simply by fact the main important one you have.