Is it OK to keep different type of vampire crab together?

**nicktc** · 8th Mar 2010, 22:05

Hi, would like to check if these 2 crab are of the same species and can be kept together in the same tank.

Bought them both as vampire crab but at different time and place.

The orange one is female and the other purple one is male.

**blue33** · 8th Mar 2010, 22:26

The orange one looks like Geosesarma aristocratensis (Red Carnaval Crab). If is different species they will kill each other.

**Shaihulud** · 8th Mar 2010, 23:44

For me, nope, they kill each other. I had 2 bi-color, 1 normal vampire and 1 blue vampire. The normal vampire moulted twice and became significantly larger, it then killed the rest.

**fisherw** · 9th Mar 2010, 00:25

Shaihulud, do you think it is a male/male thing? Were they all male?

Or could it be over-crowding?

**Shaihulud** · 9th Mar 2010, 09:07

It was a 1.5ft tank with lots of hiding place and they were all established in their own spot and were doing well for over a month. I have a mix of males and females, but i did not more males then females. The aggressor male likes to wander over the tank and chasing out the other crabs, I have never seen an attack, but other crab started dieing after this, loosing legs, claws etc.

**nicktc** · 9th Mar 2010, 21:18

Thanks for the input guys

**lucasjiang** · 11th Mar 2010, 10:26

those two crabs look like a female vampire crab and a male bicolour vampire crab (geosesarma bicolour). For me, as long as you provide enough hiding places, food and water, they will be ok. My batik crab, bicolour vampire crab, a female blue vampire crab, and an unknown female crab are all living together in the same tank. so far, no fights or deaths or broken legs.

**fisherw** · 11th Mar 2010, 11:36

As they are different colour variants of the vampire crab (right?), can they breed? Extending the thought, can different geosesarma crabs inter-breed?

**lucasjiang** · 11th Mar 2010, 17:59

no, they are not different species, not variants of the vampire crab. regarding the interbreeding thing, no one has tried it yet, so no one knows.

**nicktc** · 14th Mar 2010, 12:39

Thanks Lucus for the input.

So far they are together but can see that the female is avoiding the male. Whenever he moves in, she goes somewhere else.

**lucasjiang** · 14th Mar 2010, 15:18

haha, of course, when a man courts a woman, does the woman offer herself?

**BEASTIEPENDENT** · 17th Mar 2010, 03:19

Hi there

Originally Posted by fisherw

As they are different colour variants of the vampire crab (right?), can they breed?

Nope, they are different species, even if in this case we do not yet know the exact names since they are not known scientifically. The "orange" one is a Geosesarma sp. "orange" and the other one is not the G. bicolor but the one we call G. sp. "blue".

And as the others stated already it is not wise to keep them together as they will feed on each other. Males usually are more territorial so the females would maybe not that aggressive but a male of another species as the female would probably attack the female.

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