My first crabitat! (Review and thoughts)

[version79]

Well, after many weeks of styrofoam cutting,silicone glue-ing(man that stuff really does'nt come off easy) sweat and tears..I present to everybody..My crabitat!

I was inspired by the many beautiful vivarium/palauriums on this site...in particular by the tank done by 69efan69 (http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...=crab+vivarium)

...So with my meager fish budget and the internet as reference, I dove right into it...

...what a mistake!..IT WAS'NT EASY!..

I first realised the physical layout of the tank would be totally different from the conventional fish tanks that we are all familiar with..How do i run the tubing for the filter intake? How do i hide it?...How do i get the rain tube to give me a even distribution of water?Should I have a beach area? How much space should I allocate for the land portion? How do i attach plants to the Styrofoam rock wall? ...just some questions which I found the answers to , the hard way...

Anyways, without further adieu, i present to you the pictures of the project. I must disclaim though, I have never done this before and that the tank is forever in the "under construction" phase..so any suggestions or feedback from you guys would be much appreciated:

Attachment 19883The tank!( Inhabitants: 1 veil tail betta, 4 neon tetras, 5 cardinal tetras, 3 lamp eyes, 1 oto , 3 XL yamatos, 3 cherry shrimp and 2 red crabs)

Attachment 19884Mist maker and Underwater Halogen lights for that mysterious crab in a cave effect...Halogens warm up the water and so far no adverse effects...

Attachment 19885 The solo betta and 3 abnormally large yamatos eyeing him

Attachment 19886 Crab on a branch..(you will notice he has in his left claw is my 60 cent lamp eye tetra!)





Must add that I had my first case of Ick with the neons which quickly spread to the betta and oto...had to dose the tank blue with medication...and lost quite a few neons and the oto...thankfully the"dandruff" all dropped and is now seeming gone...

Also, due to the brackish and salty nature of the tank...I realized to my dismay that plecos and ghost knife fish are not suited for this kind of tank...

Now...I just have to keep an eye on the 2 crabs...I suspect they may have been illegally fishing their fellow tank mates!

[Merviso]

Hey bro, I can't see your attachment!

For your reference, I usually upload my photos to website like Photobucket, and then post the image here directly... easier to see and discuss...

[version79]

Thanks for the heads up...Well..hope this link works

http://s156.photobucket.com/albums/t...abitat%202010/

[eddy planer]

Hi bro,

This is gratifying setup, how long have you set up this crabitat? By a look at this beautiful setup, is not too long ago about 6months?

My advice simply adds more flora at the foreground like crypts, and its will even look like a tranquil natural.

[version79]

Thanks!...It's only been up and running for less than a month. Looking to get some air plants to attach to the branch..moss dont seem to do that well in it though..