[Kitty Whiskers]

Sorry I have alot of questions on Fiddler Crab care :-? But I just want to do the best things for my Fiddler Crabs so I want to know all the right stuff to do for them because I LOVE my crabbies :love2: Please bear with me and try to answer all my questions PLEASE!?!?.....

I have 2 Fiddler Crabs in my 10 Gallon tank with my Bettas... I know,it's the wrong place for them to live :shake:... Anyway, I want to set up a 10 Gallon "Crabitat" for my Fiddlers. I got a bag of white play sand from Menards for the dry land area and a bag of crushed Coral for the gravel in the water area. I got a screen lid, a 50 W heater, a reptile rock waterfall filter, Marine salt and some hideing caves and plastic plants. I have an old reptile heat lamp hood from when I used to have my Hermit Crabs. Would the Fiddlers like to have that in use on their tank with a day light and night light time heat lights? The bulbs are 50 W.

I was thinking of useing plxiglass divider for water and land. How would I install it in the tank and how much dry land sand section should there be and how much water section?

Do you have to cycle the water in the crabitat too like regular aquariums? Do you have to "Vaccume" the grvel in the water side in the crabitat as in a regular fish aquarium? Do you have to do weekly water changes too? If so, how much water should be changed at a time? When and how do you clean the sand in the dry land area? Or do you just take it out and add new sand every time I want to clean it? How much Marine salt to add per Gallon of water? Can I use filtered water, bottled jugs of Distilled water or Jugs of Spring Water for them? Or is it best for me to use just tap water with Stress Coat in it?

They need calcium so would it be OK to put a piece of Cuttle Bone on the dry sandy part of their Crabitat to pick at and eat?

What should the water temp be? What about Air temp and humidity?

Anything else that I need to know about Fiddler crabs and their care? Any suggestions about anything else Fiddler crab related?

Sorry so long with all of my questions but like I said I want to do the right things to make my crabs happy and healthy! And I want to get started on this ASAP! :thumbsup:

 

[redchigh]

You're right on the paludarium- They need a good place to get out of the water and dry off. When I was playing around with the idea, I was going to carve foam into a 'ledge' to glue to the back of the tank. (side will work too.) and use the ledge to add a waterfall.

Krylon fusion paint in matte Black and brown is fish-safe in my experience as long as you let it dry for at least a week, and then rinse it well. For a textured look, Spray the foam, and while the paint is wet, cover it in sand. After a few days dig it out, tap off the excess sand, and paint again. Let dry.

Here's a rough sketch of some ideas I had for mine... (although mine was going to be along the back of the tank.)

Fiddlers like to dig in the dry area, but you shouldn't let water that splashes over the divider become stagnant in the dry area, so I came up with design two- It basically uses the 'dry' sand area as a large biofilter.

Fiddlers also need iodine, and the easiest way is to buy a marine iodine supplement and dose at half-strength. For color, you could easily throw a small fish in the water area. A small group (2-3) of male endlers' livebearer would fit, and they thrive in a brackish environment. (I've done it before.)
A molly would be better, but not with such a small amount of water.

You can carve blocks of foam into the right shape pretty easy. A single block would probably work fine.

Here's my old topic-
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/saltwater-aquariums/marine-livestock-brackish-tank-99545/

 

[Kitty Whiskers]

Ok thanks for that great idea Do you have any answers to my other questions? Anyone??

 

[redchigh]

I was thinking of useing plxiglass divider for water and land. How would I install it in the tank and how much dry land sand section should there be and how much water section?

They only need a few inches of water, but if you want to add a fish, the tank should be at least half-full.

Do you have to cycle the water in the crabitat too like regular aquariums?
I would.
Do you have to "Vaccume" the grvel in the water side in the crabitat as in a regular fish aquarium?
I don't vacuum any of my aquariums... I guess you should treat it however you treat your other tanks.

Do you have to do weekly water changes too? If so, how much water should be changed at a time?
Crabs are just as sensitive to nitrates and ammonia as regular fish are. Change them as often as you do your other tanks.
When and how do you clean the sand in the dry land area? Or do you just take it out and add new sand every time I want to clean it?
I would just sift it, or just remove the visible waste. If you use the filteration technique, then you can just rinse it.

How much Marine salt to add per Gallon of water? Can I use filtered water, bottled jugs of Distilled water or Jugs of Spring Water for them? Or is it best for me to use just tap water with Stress Coat in it?

You don't have to start with distilled water like you would for a marine tank, but you will need a hygrometer to measure salinity. The crabs will do well in a variety of salinities, but the minimum is about 1/4 or 1/3 of full marine. (1.008 was my goal, but I was going to keep plants with them.)


They need calcium so would it be OK to put a piece of Cuttle Bone on the dry sandy part of their Crabitat to pick at and eat?
I would add powdered limestone or aragonite sand to all of the sand in the tank (both dry and wet).

What should the water temp be? What about Air temp and humidity?
Keep the tank sealed, and humidity isn't an issue.

Anything else that I need to know about Fiddler crabs and their care? Any suggestions about anything else Fiddler crab related?
Dose a marine iodine supplement at 1/2 strength to help shedding. Also, feed the crabs a balanced diet, but I'd supplement it with food sticks sold for reptiles. (moistened, and then left on the land area.) It's perfectly acceptable to give them a food dish to help keep the sand clean, but you'll want one or more small ones. As far as tankmates, I'd get some nerite snails, and perhaps some sort of livebearer or killifish for alkaline waters.

Sorry so long with all of my questions but like I said I want to do the right things to make my crabs happy and healthy! And I want to get started on this ASAP! :thumbsup:

read above....

 

[Kitty Whiskers]

Thank you so much Redchigh! You helped me out a bunch

 

[txO4]

I have a small underwater crab home I bought online for 1 male Fiddler.

They have larger ones on their site that look pretty cool. May want to check it out.
Atlantis Underwater Islands - The ultimate aquarium experience

 

[Varkolak]

That's so cool :shock: that underwater cave alone is enough to make me want to make a tank for fiddlers and it even has an air exchange system