Mandarin crab setup

[lucasjiang]

Hi, i just got 3 mandarin crabs. they are very cute, though quite shy. here is a pic of my setup. i am also hoping for some ideas as to what i can put at the right part and bottom part of the tank as it is quite bare.

Set-up

[kian]

post some pictures of your crab??

[lucasjiang]

Pics of the crabs

male

male

female 1

female 2

[fishpoo]

oh very nice crabs... where did you get them? for how much?

[lucasjiang]

hi, i just added some emmersed plants to my setup. here is a pic of my new setup

whole setup

downoi

crypt.parva

glosso

crypt. wendtii

unknown plant, can someone help me ID it?

[ash]

bro, did you give them any source of water?

[lucasjiang]

of course. all living things need to drink water.

[BEASTIEPENDENT]

Hiho

Yes, the second "edition" is better because it gives the specimen more possibilites to hide. The gravel is no problem, better would be terrarium humus since it better takes the moisture, doesn't get moldy and allows the crabs to dig (although Geosesarma notophorum seems not to dig very much but instead uses given hidings).

You could add some leaf litter – it's a good hiding place either and another food resource for most crabs (although – again *g* – Geosesarma species seem not to feed on leaf litter).

The plant You ask for looks like some grass, if it is out of an aquarium like Lilaeopsis (here it is called New Zealand grass).

I don't see a water dish or something like that either but it shouldn't be necessary IF the substrate is moist enough. You should however cover the "terrarium" since the crabs could escape (in a tank the silicone is enough for them to climb) and it would better for the air humidity.

[lucasjiang]

i think humidity shoudnt be a problem as the humidity here is always about 70% and above.

as for water, i fill the tub with water until it is around 1 cm under the gravel. then, i dig a small hole in the middle so that the water in the hole will be above the gravel. thats why the middle of the tub seems bare. it is because of the water hole.

BTW, the crabs always munch on my plants and wouldnt touch the pellets that i give them.

[lucasjiang]

Hi Beastie, in another thread, i saw that you were keeping 5 crabs in a 30cm tank. my tub is 46 cm. how many can i keep in my tub? currently, i have only 3 crabs.

[andrewtyr]

wont crabs rip out the plants?

[Quixotic]

These are really small crabs, about a couple of cm across the carapace, so ripping of plants are not likely to be an issue. However, some crabs do eat plant matter, not too sure on their diet of this species.

lucas, add more hiding places if you intend for more crabs. Some leaf litter as mentioned by Ollie, stones/woods would be great.

[lucasjiang]

i think as the plants grow, there will be more hiding places.

[BEASTIEPENDENT]

Good morning

i think humidity shoudnt be a problem as the humidity here is always about 70% and above.

Oky, I didn't count for that – I am in Europe

as for water, i fill the tub with water until it is around 1 cm under the gravel. then, i dig a small hole in the middle so that the water in the hole will be above the gravel.

I suspected something like that. Problem could become mold, but as long as that does not occur I see no problem.

BTW, the crabs always munch on my plants and wouldnt touch the pellets that i give them.

Funny. None of the four Geosearma species with us ever was interested in plants. Very different from other Sesarmidae which are lawnmowers.

my tub is 46 cm. how many can i keep in my tub? currently, i have only 3 crabs.

If it is 46 x 46 cm I guess from G. notophorum You could keep up to about 10 animals. But then it becomes a little overcrowded when they are starting to reproduce.

[lucasjiang]

by the way, how long does the crab need to grow from egg to adult?

[BEASTIEPENDENT]

We don't know it for sure by G. notophorum but from experiences with other G. species it should be eight to nine weeks.

[lucasjiang]

then how long must the female hold the eggs?

[BEASTIEPENDENT]

Hideho ;-)

As I wrote, eight to nine weeks probably. Then the youglings climb on the back of the mother for two to three days before they are released, states Peter K. L. Ng.

But I have misunderstood Your former question. Adulti they become with several months, I cannot say more speciic since we did not yet have younglings from this species ourselves (still waiting and waiting and… *g*). When the pleon of the females gets broader and is covering nearly the whole sternum after a molt they should have become adult.

[lucasjiang]

hi, i have another question. my crabs are always hiding. in fact, i doubt they even come out at night. sometimes when i shine my torch into their tank at night, all of them are hiding. furthermore, the food is untouched and they dont seem to eat the plants anymore. is this normal? what other food can they eat?

[BEASTIEPENDENT]

Hi there,

yes they are very hideous (what is why we don't advice them for the most people) and since they are so small the amount of food that visibly "disappears" is very small either – so You can't see very good if or how much they fed.

You can give tomatoe, cucumber, corn and other vegetables (must be good washed and or peeled, may not contain too much hydrocyanic or oxalic acid and no copper), fish (fresh or frozen), bloodworms, artemia, daphnia, cyclops etc.

EDIT: Since I had to type this twice I forgot: They pick up some food also from the detritus (micro organisms etc.).