Crabs

[MartinW]

I think crabs are invertebrates. If they're not please tell me which forum to post to.

I have a spare 33 gallon tank and I'm looking for something to put in it. Can I mix hermit crabs and fiddler crabs together? Is there any good tank mates for these to add a bit of variety?

Martin

[Bartman]

dont know about crabs but i dont know any reptiles you can house together so i doubt you can put diff crabs together..im no expert at all though..just a guess :)

[Darlene]

I am by no means an expert but I have kept crabs for some years. In my experience the hermits; both marine & land; are a very docile & timid species. So much so in fact that they can die of fright. One must be very careful of this especially when they are molting. They come out of their "stolen" shell & bury themselves to molt. When they are done they must have larger shells to choose from or they will become so hysterical that they will often die. However if they have the shells & hides that they need they are also very hysterical to watch. They will run around inspecting the shells, rolling them over & even trying them on.
The fiddler's on the other hand are very aggressive. I would not expect hermit's housed with them to last long; even if you were lucky enough to find the hermits that live in the brackish water/semi-terrestrial way the fiddler's do. Most available hermits are either land hermits or marine hermits.
My personal favorite; & only one I still keep; is the land hermit. There is no tank mate for them that I know of. The marine hermit can easily share a tank with almost any of the saltwater tropical fish. The fiddler can share a tank with some certain species of tropical fish that are okay in the brackish water. Keep in mind tho that the fiddler requires more land then water so accomodating fish with him is not easy. In my opinon the land hermits don't need tank mates for variety.....they are very amusing on their own if you have a small group. A 33g would easily hold 4 of the large ones, 6 mediums or 8 smalls.

Let me know if you need any other info or have more questions; I'd be happy to help if I can. Darlene.

Oh yeah, by the way, they are inverts; arthropods actually.

[reptilesalonica]

My rainbow crabs (terrestrial spp.) are amazing! Very colorful, tame and easy to care for as they are eating soft fruits.
~Greg~

[reptilesalonica]

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