CRABS

Meatpuppet

hello ppl
well im just wondering if i can stick little crabs in with a betta. or will the crab pinch at it or somthing bcuz ive seen crabs with other types of fish but not bettas[/i]

Flashygrrl

Fiddler crabs?

Well, fiddler crabs need a tank that's set up with a lower water level so that they can be out of it when they want, and that doesn't give the Betta a whole lot of room to get away. So, either Crab will kill Betta if Crab is big enough, or if Crab is small then Betta will either hurt or kill Crab. Fiddlers do better in a slightly brackish environment anyways, so it's better off you don't mix them.

(And don't listen to the stupid LFS people when they say they are freshwater and fully aquatic, we presented the Petco guy with proof that they weren't and he still refused to believe it. Our crab lived 3 years but ended up having some kind of weird molting problem.)

Meatpuppet

o shucks i was afraid of that :(

(off topic but...) i really wish i had a petco here in canada cuz everybody keeps saying how great and superior it is to other stores.

Flashygrrl

Blah. Overpriced and the employees are not as dedicated to their job as the little mom & pop that usually work the hours themselves and will bend over backwards to keep the customer happy.

fish_4_all

Well maybe things are a little different in Canada as far as experience needed to do it.

As for crabs, I have seen truely aquatic little ones but I can not remember the names of them. I also think every one fo them was at least brachish.

iamntbatman

The LFS we go to sells red-clawed crabs. These do fine in fresh water but aren't really "fully aquatic." I got one for one of my tanks, and I keep the water level just low enough so that there's an island formed by a piece of driftwood. He spends a decent amount of time out of the water. He mostly eats whatever he can get has claws on (usually algae wafers).

He only lives with fast moving fish, but I've definitely seen him try to reach out and snag a passing barb. I definitely wouldn't recommend him with a betta, as their slower speed and huge trailing fins are basically an invitation to get jumped by a crab. They're fun critters for other types of tanks, though.

Meatpuppet

well i decided to go with shrimp then instead
one reason: i only have a 5gal. (are crabs alright in 5gs?)
and two: im scared ill wake up one morining and see my betta trapped in the iron grip of the crabs giant claw.
amano shrimp seem less violent and theyre fully aquatic. i dont realy feel like seting up a vivarium/tank.

Flashygrrl

Good choice. I had my crab in a 5 gallon but it was just him and I didn't know much...

Meatpuppet

so crabs dont go in 5galls then? if so especially mine bcuz mine is one of those tall ones that are higher than they are long.

okiemavis

I think a small crab would be fine in a 5 gallon, but again, you'd want it to be able to get out of the water. They just shouldn't be housed with other fish in such a small tank.