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Brackish water help for crabs

6K views 9 replies 3 participants last post by  Flashygrrl 
#1 ·
I really wanted a fiddler crab ever since i saw them so i looked up some info before buying them. It said that fiddlers needed a brackish water solution. I have aquarium salt. Can i make a brakish water solution with that? If so, how much salt do i put in the water for 1 cup? The salt is from API. for diesase treatment and stress resducer, it says to use 1 rounded tablespoonful for every 5 gallons.

Also, can i use the calcium carbonate sand for hermit crabs to use as substrate for fiddler crabs?

Sorry for all the questions guys. :oops:
 
#4 ·
There should be instructions on the back of the bucket/bag for the proper addition of salt.

As for the specific gravity, it should be around 1.010-1.020. Some have the SG as low as 1.005 even. However, 1.020 is almost marine, so I would keep it in the low teens (1.009-1.015). A refractometer will help determine this.
 
#6 ·
Do you have a tank just for the fiddler crab? If you use instant ocean it should have the calcium in there, and then why the fiddler molts it should be allowed to eat it's exoskeleton for additional calcium. Plain sand will probably work. Remember to have your "dry area" set up where the crab can't jump out and some good hiding spots for them since they're pretty skittish around people and even worse during molting.
 
#10 ·
Hmmm...I don't think the crab needs THAT much, it probably would actually shock him because at most petstores (excluding my local Petsmart, surprisingly) they're dumb and keep them in freshwater. Maybe use a quarter of the pouch and then measure the salinity and just keep adding to where you want it?
 
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