Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum : Arthropoda
Class : Malacostraca
Order :Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Brachyura
Picture:
About:
There are around 1,300 species of freshwater crabs, distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics, divided among eightfamilies. They show direct development and maternal care of a small number of offspring, in contrast to marine crabs which release thousands of planktonic larvae.
Common species:
Red-Clawed Crabs
The red-clawed crab is a popular one. It thrives best in brackish water with fish that will not try to eat the crab. Red-clawed crabs grow to up to 2.5 inches and live about four years. They are not picky when it comes to food and make great scavengers, but you may need to offer a dry food or vegetable to supplement their diet. Be careful about keeping the lid on tight, because the red-clawed crab may try to escape.
Fiddler Crabs
The fiddler crab is also referred to as a mini crab. The species thrives best in water that is slightly brackish and in an aquarium with an internal filter. Mini crabs will grow to up to 2 inches. They are usually peaceful crabs that are fairly easy to care for; they can be quite interesting to watch while they are scavenging for food. Fiddler crabs spend most of their time climbing and hiding in driftwood, rocks and other decorations on the aquarium floor.
Gold Claw Crabs
Gold claw crabs have one claw larger than the other and will wave it at other crabs to communicate and as part of its mating ritual. These crabs live up to 2 years, as long as the water is kept clean and plenty of decaying material is available for them to scavenge. This is a small crab species, topping out at 1.5 inches, but it can be somewhat aggressive with tank mates. Gold claw crabs need some land in their environment, but be careful of the aquarium lid, because they will escape.
Soap Dish Crabs
The soap dish crab gets its name because it is often shipped in a soap dish, each crab by itself to prevent one from killing another. It has many aliases, being called rainbow crab, moon crab, patriot crab and other names. These crabs can be quite aggressive, and will eat other crabs and fish. Many fish keepers still enjoy them because of their brightly colored bodies, feeding them live fish, black worms, shrimp and other creatures. These crabs thrive best in brackish water.
Keeping in Aquarium:
When designing an aquarium, you want to make sure the ratio of land and water is 50/50. In order to be able to create adequate housing area, you'll need an aquarium of no less than 10 gallons for up to four crabs.Once the water and land areas of the aquarium are set up, you want to make sure the temperature is accurate. Use a digital thermometer with a probe to ensure the temperature is between 75 and 82 degrees Fahrenheit. If the aquarium needs supplemental heat, use a reptile-specific heat bulb. You can place the fixture above the land area so the fiddler crab can climb out of the water and bask to warm up.
Feeding:
Feed a crab a variety of commercial foods, including algae wagers, sinking pellets, specialized crab food, dried bloodworm's, shrimp and krill. You can offer blanched zucchini, blanched peas and raw or boiled fish.
Reproduction:
Male
These lay eggs
Hikari feed for Crabs:
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