Red claw crab setup

[Witchy]

Hello everyone, I have been travelling the web searching for people that can show me their current/prior red claw crab (Sesarma bidens) setups. I am a regular on some of the fish sites, but unless you are in the "clique" you tend not to get any information. The last site I asked the only answer I got was "I put a big rock in it that he could climb on." Seeing that they are burrowers this seems like the bare basic they require. So I thought I would ask here since in my epic amount of googling I saw some other crab related posts here.

First off yes they are red claws (Sesarma bidens), I have a male and a female, I do know they are best with a brackish 1.005 salinity, and generally what makes them happy. BUT trying to find a setup that is both pleasing for them, and pleasing to look at isn't easy to find. Mostly I have been finding pictures of some sand, some water, and hermit crab huts. Or what I can tell is more fit for another species of crab. I have never been one to give my pets the bare basics and I don't think the crabs deserve that either. So they are getting a better setup. I was hoping that someone here would have pictures of their setups, and I can get some ideas from them. Also what substrate did you use?

 

[Toxoderidae]

Well I only kept Sesarma for a very short period of time, that genus is too aggressive for any communal setup aside from males and females.

I keep Ocypode quadrata. I never see them, but they are happy little campers. If you wanted an enclosure that mimicked their habitat in the wild you'd need mud, and lots of it. To be honest, what I'd do is get a 20gal fishtank, make a shoreline out of sand and excavator clay, and then make a purely excavator clay part at back/middle of the "beach" Here is where YOU predig some burrows that are slightly wider than the crab from the side, so they can live in the burrow for a couple molts. Give them wood, rocks and other material to climb and be crabs on.

 

[Witchy]

Excavator clay? Is that the same as red clay? I was looking at red clay last night, the type used for planted tanks (powdered, no added ferts and such) and was going to end up making my own mix of clay/sand. Also looked at refugium mud but that stuff is expensive. Ok so excavator clay? Where do I find this?

P.s. Really excited right now, not only did someone respond quickly, they had an intelligent response. I may have to move to this forum permenantly!

 

[Toxoderidae]

Excavator clay? Is that the same as red clay? I was looking at red clay last night, the type used for planted tanks (powdered, no added ferts and such) and was going to end up making my own mix of clay/sand. Also looked at refugium mud but that stuff is expensive. Ok so excavator clay? Where do I find this?

P.s. Really excited right now, not only did someone respond quickly, they had an intelligent response. I may have to move to this forum permenantly!

this is excavator clay. can't be molded by the animal, but is great for a setup like this since it can't get a smelly and anaerobic like sand/mud http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/EntryDetail.php?EntryID=188&DatabaseID=2&SearchID=3

 

[Witchy]

Ok so barrier between the mud and water then? Hmm. I can rework the setup that was planned for the 20 and get this stuff into it. Do you think the humidity level will cause a problem or do i just let it air dry?

 

[Toxoderidae]

Ok so barrier between the mud and water then? Hmm. I can rework the setup that was planned for the 20 and get this stuff into it. Do you think the humidity level will cause a problem or do i just let it air dry?

Having not really kept this species I can't say much on humidity, but since they are a brackish mangrove species, I don't believe the humidity would be that much of a problem.

 

[Witchy]

Sweet. Im excited. This made the terrestrial section of my paludrium ten times easier. and the molding that can occur. :-D Im way more excited about this than i need to be lol.

Ok. So still a ways out from being able to complete this but now i have mud and im happy lol.