rainbow crab rescue

[sezra]

I have just rescued a rainbow crab that was advertised online near me. Seriously, the state of the tank was disgusting. It stank because the water was stagnant and the glass was covered in a thick green algae. I've changed the water (I had to leave some water to stand overnight before doing a water change) and cleaned the tank out.

The thing is, i've never kept crabs (i have tropical fish so have some experience of keeping a healthy aquarium) before and he doesnt look so healthy. What I plan on doing is adding more water and sand to create a deep half and a beach type half. I'm going to add some stones and make some hiding places. Oh, and add a filter to make sure the ammonia doesnt get dangerously high. I've added a new heater and set it 22.

Is there anything else I can do to make this little guy healthier? (i'm guessing its a boy as he has one big claw and one small claw)

It makes me angry people can keep animals like this. the guy said to me, its just a crab. I have a spider and a scorpion and i'll tell you what, the crickets i feed them are kept in a better condition than this poor guy was.

By the way, I named him Monty

 

[ShredderEmp]

I have these, if you are refering to Gecarcinus quadratus. I had two, but one died on Sunday . I use this caresheet, it's very good: http://www.easyinsects.co.uk/site/content/view/22/29/ .

 

[sezra]

Im sorry for you loss. Wow the crab on that page is really colorful! I'm not sure if mine is the same species or not but I took some pics. thanks for the link

as you can see, the set up is not ideal, but it's 100% better than what he was in earlier today. I'm going to pimp his tank out tomorrow so i'll keep you updated

 

[ShredderEmp]

And thanks, I came back from vacation and found him very sick, which was in early January. He was fluctuating between getting better and worse, until not even an ICU could help him.

I think it may be a Gecarcinus ruricola, which should have similar care requirements.

 

[sezra]

are you able to post a pic of your set up? and were you housing your crabs together? from what i've read, they can fight if they are kept in the same tank. It would be nice to add another crab when the tank is set up properly, but not if they will fight.

 

[ShredderEmp]

I kept a male and a female together, and they each had separate burrows. I don't have any pictures, but it's setup the exact same way.

 

[sezra]

did they fight at all? at a guess, my tank is 60cmx30cmx30cm. could i keep another crab in there ok?

 

[ShredderEmp]

That sounds ok for 2 crabs as long as there is enough hiding spots.

 

[bugmankeith]

Are these also called Halloween Crabs, that's what they were sold as at an expo by me.

 

[ShredderEmp]

Those are what I have, Gecarcinus quadratus.

 

[sezra]

Monty has made it through the last few days and his tank is looking so much better than when I got him, although the pictures dont do it justice! All thats left to do is replace that massive heater in there for a smaller one

I think my tank is 60x30x30cm what is the smallest heater I could use?

Edit: Also are there any fish I could add to the tank? I know people say not to but I thought I would ask anyway. Maybe some snails?

 

[ShredderEmp]

I think you should have less water first of all. Try to keep it half and half.

You could try adding snails and plecostomuses as those should be ok.

 

[sezra]

less water? he spends 90% of his time underwater. I wonder why that is? to be honest, I only have so much water because the heater is so big and takes up so much space, as soon as i have a smaller one, I can add to the land part. After I posted here, i watched videos of rainbow crabs destroying plecos and snails. I think i'll just keep him by himself

 

[ShredderEmp]

Even though he spends most of his time underwater, that doesn't mean that he doesn't use the land. Try to add some more.

 

[RockinOutAmber]

Do NOT put a pelco in there.

 

[ShredderEmp]

Why not? In my expirience, my crab almost never goes in the water. A pleco might foul the water with all the poop, but a snail wouldn't. The chance that they catch a fish is very low imo.

 

[RockinOutAmber]

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/pleco/care.php
http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-Pleco.htm

The common pelco get upwards to 18 inches. Forcing them to live in very little water will stunt their growth and kill them. Please do some research before suggesting ideas. I'm not trying to be a bitch, but it irks me when people ignorantly keep fish in horrid living conditions without properly researching them (this is towards the fish suggestions not the crab).

 

[ShredderEmp]

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/pleco/care.php
http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-Pleco.htm

The common pelco get upwards to 18 inches. Forcing them to live in very little water will stunt their growth and kill them. Please do some research before suggesting ideas. I'm not trying to be a bitch, but it irks me when people ignorantly keep fish in horrid living conditions without properly researching them (this is towards the fish suggestions not the crab).

You do realize that you can move fish to different tanks. This is done many times with sharks. You don't have to keep it there forever.

 

[ShredderEmp]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/artour_a/463302498/

Found this today. It's a Gecarcinus ruricola. Very similar to yours. How's Monty doing?