# Trouble with brackish environment and red claw crab



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

If it's one thing I hate the most, it's feeling helpless. Another thing I can't handle is suffering critters.

Hi guys, new to this forum and hopefully I'll get an answer.
History on the issue.
Set-up a 5 gallon tank for my betta, to which I added 1 tablespoon API aquarium salt. Gravity was at right around 1.003-1.004
Bought a red clawed crab as a scavenger.
Local fish store guy sold it to me as freshwater crab from freshwater tank [also had fiddlers in there]
Found out red clawed crabs fare better in brackish
Googled info and spent an entire week reading and researching. I cannot come across any new articles now
Set-up a brackish environment with a gravity of 1.007
Water temp is right at 78*F constantly, maintained by a 50w Tetra water heater with thermostat
Water is cycled by a Tetra Whisper biofilter
Decor is just rocks and gravel previously used in my 75g tank that housed some coy temporarily, tank which has been dry for a year now. Some plastic plants and that's it
After having the crab with the betta for a week, moved him in his new brackish environment. She was alive and well with the betta. She would spend much of the day inside the filter but the following morning and throughout the day I would find her in various spots in the aquarium. I have seen her eat several times, once shuffling through the tiny rocks on the bottom and another time nibbling at my plant.
Why move her then? Because all the articles online seemed to agree that:
1) in the long term she will be better of in brackish
2) my betta, although very tolerant of her, would eventually end up peing nipped since he would sleep on the bottom

So I moved her in her new environment and trouble ensues
Crab has been in the tank for 3 days now
He barely moves. Doesn't even make an effort to hide anymore. I find him in the morning almost in the same spot as the night before
I have not seen him eat

I grow more desperate by the minute. Help!
I plan on replacing 1 gallon of the brackish with 1 gallon of freshwater to bring the salinity to about 1.005

What else can I do? I'm pretty sure I can vouch for the water quality, I barely dropped 6 little food pellets total. No, I did not cycle it. It is well water, I have used it for the betta as well and not had any problems with it. I used water conditioner for safe measure. I do have a test kit on the way [ordered online, Aquarium Pharmaceutical] but that won't be here for another 4 days AND I made the mistake of ordering one for freshwater. The readings should be pretty close I think.

Any help or ideas are more than welcome. Like I said, I'm feeling pretty desperate. Theoretically it's just a 2 dollar crab but to me it's much more than that. I feel responsible for it's well being as much as I do for my cat, dog and wife. By the way, the wife can't take much of my worring and shuffling 

Help me help my critter


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Aquarium salt does not make brackish water. You need marine salt. Aquarium salt does not have the correct trace elements needed for brackish water. All you have is brine. 

Also, plopping a creature from freshwater into very salted water will cause osmotic shock, which will damage and can kill them. They have to be slowly and carefully acclimated to the salinity. In addition to that, they MUST have their tank cycled first, as ammonia and nitrites will kill them just as fast as fish, faster even considering they are more deadly in brackish water.

Red claw crabs do indeed need brackish. They tolerate a range of brackish, although as I said, they require marine salt. Yours is a little high though, I keep mine around 1.004. Additionally, the MUST have some way to crawl out of the water. The waterline needs to be low enough and they need to have some sort of structure to get out of the water. They do not like to be submerged all of the time and its not good for their health.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

I forgot to mention.
For my brackish I used Instant Ocean Marine. I only used the aquarium salt for the betta.
The crab also has a decent sized spot on one of the rocks to climb out of the water but he hasn't shown much interest.

So, with all this said and done, what should I be looking at doing?


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Daily large water changes until the tank cycles. Although it may be too late if you didn't acclimate him to the higher SG. How are you measuring the SG?


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

I have an Instant Ocean Hydrometer.
This one:
http://www.amazon.com/TK-504-Instant-Ocean-Hydrometer/dp/B00019JOSO
I'll go home for lunch and suck up 1 gallon out of the 4 and add freshwater. Would that be alright for now? Looking to decrease the SG to around 1.005 or 1.004


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

They tend to be hard to clean and use and are fairly inaccurate as a result. I would recommend a hydrometer. They're pretty cheap on Ebay.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

I was told that's one of the good ones and easy to use. It is a hydrometer, am I to search for a different kind?

If it helps, I added almost 2 leveled tbsp per gallon. 4 gallons, 7 tbsps.


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Hydrometers in general are hard to use accurately. Sorry, I mis-typed, I meant you should get a refractometer. Do a search for "salinity refractometers" on Ebay.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

My 7 tbsp should be within the 1.005-1.010 limit, should it not?
I'll do the 1 gallon exchange and hope for the best for now.
I rushed into this because I was basically rushed myself by other fish enthusiasts, being told that no, the crab has to go into brackish pronto.


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

No idea, there are too many variables than to say x amount equals y. That's why accurate measurements are needed.

Unfortunately, you were misled. The crab does need brackish, yes, but would have been fine for the short term it would have taken to cycle the tank and acclimate him to the brackish water. However, do not lower the salinity too fast either, or it can also cause osmotic shock. Lower it very slowly. 

And just wondering but why do you have your betta in salt? It does not need it and does best in freshwater.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

From what I've read it's actually recommended you add variations between 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of aquarium salt per 5 gallons of water. This will prevent diseases and also help with the general well being.
Info taken from bettatalk.com, amongst others.
If the salinity drops from 1.007 to 1.004 or so, would that still be too much of a sudden change?

Thanks! You have been the most helpful so far. I think osmotic shock is the problem I'm facing.

Refractometers. I don't want to buy cheap inaccurate knock-offs. Is this ok?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Salinity-Salt-R...1QQihZ002QQcategoryZ11876QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Actually it doesn't do either, it neither prevents disease nor helps with general well being. That, unfortunately, is a very common myth that people just parrot but without any basis in scientific fact.
http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/salt.shtml


Yes, that would definitely be too big of a change. Change it no more than .001 at the most.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

I tend to trust sites such as bettatalk especially when the owners have bred thousands of offspring and such. I am not dismissing the possibility of the addition of salt to be erroneous, but when faced with conflicting info on the net because there's plenty of it, I go with the folks that have some experience under their belt.
The betta has never been happier by the way. He has a monster appetite too


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Your fish, you're of course free to do whatever you want. Just wanted to let you know that its a myth.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

And I suppose after 3 days of brackishwater, putting the crab back with the betta will also harm him? I'm between the proverbial rock and hardplace, aren't I?


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Yup, pretty much. Just keep him where he is, do daily water changes and lower the salinity slowly.


----------



## Guest (Jan 15, 2007)

Hydrometers read fine, they only give inaccurate readings after being used for a while due to corrosion. Just be sure to rinse it with freshwater after every use and you can get a good long use out of it. That happens to be the same hydrometer i have for my saltwater tanks.


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Agreed, SK, but you have a lot of experience. Its harder for newer people to use them accurately, keep them calibrated, cleaned, etc.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

First off, here is a picture of my set-ups:
Betta [5 and half gallon]
http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/3862/bettaaquariumgj1.jpg
Brackish [your standard PetCo 10 gallon tank, half-filled]
http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/4250/brackishwateraquariumaq6.jpg
Here is a close-up of the rocks and gravel I am using for the brackish.
http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/326/rockandgravelrf5.jpg
No idea what kind of gravel exactly, I'm told it looks expensive. It came with a 75gallon tank my dad bought from a friend a while back with stand, 4 pumps, rocks. It does have a certain odor to it when moist, almost smells like cement?
So what do you think of them?
These are my very first aquariums ever, so yes, I am a newbie.

Good news, I think. The little one has gone all the way from one corner of the tank to the opposite one, to hide underneath the rocks, in a dark place. When I shone a flashlight briefly it reacted, something that it didn't do up until now. I also stuck my finger close to her and sensed it, which made her move out of the way. Up until now she wouldn't flinch until I actually touched her.

I did a partial water change, I extracted 1 gallon out of the 4 and replaced it with freshwater in an effort to decrease salinity. It went from 1.007 to 1.005 and a half. It's a bit hard to read on my hydrometer but I didn't drop it more than a point and half at most.
I think we're on the right track, hopefully she will eat something tonight [it will be hard to tell] and even surface.

You guys have been most helpful. Not to bash Aquarium Advice [aquariumadvice.com] or anything but my questions have been for the most part ignored 

So, she is a female red clawed crab. Once she pulls through this, can I get maybe one more? Can it be a female fiddler crab? If I do, how should I best handle the tranzition from freshwater to brackish?

Now, as far as keeping things clean and taking accurate measurements I would like to say in my defense that I've been building computers as a hobby for 11 years now and I work in IT. I'm pretty good at keeping everything tidy, up to date, organized and can guesstimate a CPU's core temp by touching the heatsink


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

I don't know about mixing species but I wouldn't get more than 1 more in a 10g tank. They do get territorial and are very vulnerable when they've molted.

The best way to acclimate anything from freshwater to brackish (or SW or vice versa) is by drip acclimation. This explains it pretty well (don't do the float method, that is for adjusting freshwater to freshwater and saltwater to saltwater): http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/general.cfm?general_pagesid=19&ref=3319&subref=AI

Guestimating a CPU's core temp is one thing but guestimating water parameters is something completely different.  You definitely need a test kit. I highly recommend Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Freshwater Master Test Kit. It has all of the basics and will last a good long time. 

Keep up with the daily water changes, even if you have the salinity where you want it, until the cycle completes. You'll need the test kit to know for sure when that is - when the ammonia and nitrites read zero and there are some nitrates. Then you can back off to doing water changes and gravel cleaning once a week. Don't clean the gravel during the cycling process though.

Not sure what water conditioner you are using but I highly recommend Prime, especially during a cycle. It will detoxify the ammonia and nitrites, making them less poisonous to the livestock but will leave them available for the cycle. Its also safe in overdose amounts.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

I agree, IT is IT and fish are fish.
It's going to be tough for me to figure out how to maintain the salinity throughout these partial water changes. 1 gallon should be good enough for the partial changes, right? Considering that I only have 4 going on right now.

I do have the AP freshwater master kit on the way, I should see it by the end of this week.

As far as water conditioner, I forget what exact one I have but it's definitely Tetra. I think Easy Balance.
http://www.amazon.com/Tetra-EasyBal...1_4/104-5309039-6295909?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

1 gallon should be fine since the tank isn't filled to the top. Crabs can handle some variance in the salinity, just not too much at once. 

As far as the Easy Balance, I would definitely recommend not using it anymore and getting Prime. Easy Balance has all sorts of crap in it that you definitely don't need.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

I actually have Tetra AquaSafe
http://www.amazon.com/Tetra-AquaSaf...1_1/104-5309039-6295909?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden
Which, upon reading does nothing on nitrite and ammonia. I'll get some Prime today then.


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Your fish will thank you.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

Update

Huge improvement in the crabby's condition yesterday afternoon and today. She is a lot more lively, not as shy [although she still stays out of view]. She moves about, when I enter the room she retreats under the rocks. I think she's climbing about, looking for a way out and above the water. She will eventually find it I'm sure. It's right above her 

What I am worried about now is getting her to eat something. I think she's been starving for 3 days. I dropped a bottom feeder type half of pellet closeby, hopefully she will reach for it. I will suck it up when I get home so it doesn't create ammonia problems and drop a fresh one before I go to bed. That's about the most I can do. So I think the worse has passed for now. I know stuff like this weakens them, will she in time heal back up, or will she be sickly from now on out?


----------



## fraser27 (Jan 14, 2007)

are crabs easy to keep?


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

That's great! She may be eating when you aren't watching. I rarely see mine eat. Mine right now are eating betta pellets and frog & tadpole bites that I have leftover from other critters. I also throw in some frozen bloodworms periodically. They're pretty small and don't eat much.


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Fraser, they're easy if you meet their needs. 

Oh, Fishbone, make sure you have every hole in the cover sealed up. I had one escape through the back of a closed Eclipse hood where the cords come out. Still haven't found his corpse yet, he's probably in Mexico by now.  They can climb cords and can get out holes smaller than you might think. I had to cover everything in duct tape.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

Hehe, if mine wasn't a female I would have named it Houdini. I have yet to pick out a name for her. I do have a glass cover and there is no space between where the cords come out, but I will tape it down for good measure. The lid is opened on the other side to allow air to get in, there is no way in hell she will escape that route unless she can either jump LONG or climb on straight up, smooth glass 

Once the test kit is in I'm going to test the water and after I've made sure everything is in order I'm going to go out and buy another female red clawed crab or fiddler. I'll look for a shy one, not one that's standing on top of the tallest rock in the aquarium


----------



## fraser27 (Jan 14, 2007)

lol, it might be super crab


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

Ok guys, the API freshwater test kit came in and here's what I got. I'm going to need some help and advice 

Faucet water PH test:
pH: 7.2
High-range pH: 7.4

Betta tank [5 and half gallons]
pH: 7.6
high-range pH: 8.4
Ammonia, nitrItes and nitrAtes all read zero

Brackishwater tank [5 gallons of water in a 10 gallon tank]
pH: 7.6
high-range pH: 8.4
ammonia: 1
nitrIte: 0
nitrAte: 5

Here's the problem. Like I said this is the freshwater API master kit, the ammonia and nitrate test colors say it's for freshwater only, only the nitrIte color card says for fresh and saltwater. Does this mean my ammonia and nitrate readings are unreliable?

Should I be getting worried about the pH readings? I know the crab likes hard water but not the betta so much. However, the betta has been fine so far, he shows all the right signs of health: he eats a LOT, swims about, likes to get angry at his own reflection [he sometimes sees himself at night when I go to bed and the nightlamp turns a side of the tank into a mirror], etc. He has nice solid colors, by no means does he seem off.

Both tanks have Tetra Whisper biofilters in them.

Yesterday I did a 1 gallon water change in the betta tank after having the tank set-up for 16 days approximately. Today I also compensated with about a half gallon.
Yesterday I also changed 1 gallon of the 4 in the crab's tank. Today I did the same but I put in 2 gallons instead of 1 because I had to compensate. The water gravity actually went down a bit from 1.008 to 1.006 because I did not add enough when I put water back in.

Thoughts? Suggestions? I know, I will keep making those water changes for the crab, since the tank is barely a week old.


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

The API freshwater kit is fine for brackish. Your tanks don't need the SW kits. 

Specific pH doesn't matter as long as its stable and they're acclimated to it. Don't do anything to make it swing. Using salt often affects the pH, particularly marine salt. What's of more concern is the ammonia in the brackish tank, although there's not much that can be done about it other than daily water changes unless you can get ahold of some Biospira. 

I don't understand why your betta tank is showing no ammonia, nitrites or nitrates. It should be showing one or the other. You should probably test again, very carefully following the instructions for each one. Also, not sure why you are getting two different pH readings, either. Why are you testing both ranges?


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

I know why ammonia is such a problem in the brackish tank, I found that out yesterday when I managed to stir it up just a bit when using my gravel vacuum. There were a lot of tiny food particles floating about. The sinking Tetra food pellets intended for bottom feeders after about 10 minutes soften up and turn into something that looks like fine sand. Well, I've been doing my best so that I drop a quarter of a pellet at night on a spot on the rocks and in the morning I suck up that crap using a turkey baster. Apparently some of it manages to spread in the water tho, as it floats about.
If I do a 1 gallon change out of the 5 is that enough or can I go more? I can certainly go more but I don't want to overdo it. This time I'll stir the water up a bit so that I can suck some of that junk out.

Next time when I start with a new set-up, I'll cycle the tanks. A lesson well learned I guess. The crab is fine so far.

As far as testing for high-range pH, I did the test honestly just because it was there as an option and was curious. I will read the manual, as it explains the importance [or lack thereof], as I do not remember now what it said. I'll also redo the ammonia, nitrIta and nitrAte tests as I found it odd myself that readings were all zero. I should at least have seen some nitrates. But what I don't get is how come I've got ammonia and nitrates in the brackish tank, but no nitrItes? Am I just looking at an ammonia spike?


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

One gallon is fine. Don't vacuum the gravel during a cycle. Also, be very, very careful about the amount of salt you are changing. If you change more than .002 at a time, not only can it harm the crabs but it will also kill the bacteria you are trying to cultivate.

As far as ammonia and no nitrites, if those readings are correct, then yes you are having an ammonia spike. Possibly because of the excess food. I'd try skipping feeding him a day or two. They are scavengers and will manage to find particles to eat and he'll be fine without food for a couple of days.


----------



## Daeorn (Dec 13, 2006)

lol, Sorry I had to post here. I was reading over your situation with it escaping. Fishbone, I just got myself a rather large hermit crab, and his name IS Houdini. I didn't know how effective he could be at climbing, as he easily (shell and all) fits in my palm - he's climbed the wires in the tank from the filter and he's so strong actually pried up the tank lid while I was watching him. 

Took him like 10 minutes but managed to get out. I was awstruck. Now I keep some heavy books on the lid to prevent him from doing so again.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

Boxermom, definitely keeping the amount of salt stable is going to be my biggest challenge. I have yet to figure out the right balance of how much salt to add for each gallon removed in order to maintain the current gravity. Yesterday I did 1tbsp per gallon and that wasn't enough. I'll add two and check the gravity in the gallon and see what it does overall.

Daeorn, I always figured the lid would be too heavy for him to actually lift and crawl out. I guess I'll have to do something similar to your set-up, although the rocks are on the opposite side of the tank and that's where crabby hangs around.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

Did more tests today, for the most part same reading. In the betta tank there is no ammonia and no nitrItates and the color for nitrAtes is between 0 and 5.
In the brackish the ammonia reading has gone down but it's still there. No nitrItes, nitrAtes read 5. I think I found where I went wrong. I am using the same filter I had used in my betta because now my old aquarium has a new one. Well, when I installed the two I forgot to switch filters and the brackish ended up with the old filter, which I replaced today. It was brownish on the upper part and the water starter flowing over it, so it was definitely due for a change. I anticipate that tomorrow night when I do my water change the ammonia should be lower.


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Ugh, changing the filter during a cycle is not a good idea. That's where the vast majority of the bacteria resides. Filters rarely need to be changed, just rinse the gunk off and stick it back in.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

What gravity would you folks keep this brackish set-up with red clawed crabs, or blue crabs or fiddlers? Literature says anywhere between 1.004 and 1.008 or sometimes 1.010. Is 1.006 or so sufficient? I don't want it to be too low or high.


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

1.006 is fine, just try not to swing too much. I keep mine at 1.005.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

Sounds good.
The tank seems kinda empty with just 1 crab which 99% of time hangs on the rocks. There's still plenty of space around on the bottom. I plan on getting her another female friend in another two weeks or so once the aquarium is done cycling.
Given that:
-aquarium holds about 4 - 4 and a half gallons of water
-gravity will never be over 1.008
what sort of fish would you say would go well? Can I just start searching online for brackish fish and judge by how big they get, or is this environment a no-no from the start for some kind of fish? I think two or 3 relatively small fish would do fine.
I found a nice list of brackish fish here:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=954


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Fish to go in with the crabs? Well, your choice of course but claws and fins never get mixed in my tanks. And there really isn't room IMO for two crabs and fish in less than 5 gallons of water.

Here's a good list of fish that can go brackish. http://homepage.mac.com/nmonks/aquaria/brackfaqpart3.html None that I'm aware of are small enough to keep even one in that small of a tank though. About the only one I can think of is bumblebee gobies, but I wouldn't put them in with crabs, no way.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

Aw darn! I was hoping to get some movement around in the tank, the crab hangs on the rocks which take about a quarter of the tank in one corner.
I'll get another crab and see how they behave, maybe a third will get along with the other two without them getting territorial. The only possible territorial issue I see is the rock area that's above water, it may become crowded for all 3 to stay on it.

I'd glagly increase the water level but I have yet to figure out a rock layout that allows me to do that. I'm just glad I got the crab to stay away from the damn filter, hah.


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Two is pushing the tank size, three would definitely be too many. Its normally recommended to have a square foot of floor space for each crab.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

Alright, you're right, I'll just stick with my original plant and get her ONE tank mate. I will set-up a rock above water level on the opposite side of the tank so the two will get along. But seriously, I've had this brackish tank for almost a month now and I've only seen the crabby wonder around ONCE.

Some feeding questions. Is it OK if I leave a small pea or piece of lettuce in the tank overnight? It shouldn't start rotting, right? How about raw meat, such as shrimp? Just a tiny piece that I will scoop up in the morning. I was also thinking of some ways to introduce some calcium in the diet. Cuttlebone would be good but how about some good old egg shells? Free and readily available. Boiled should be great, no germs and plenty of calcium still. I was thinking of just dropping a small piece in there.

Should I worry about the two or three small shells in there raising the water hardness? PH is, if I remember correctly, around 7.5 or 8. I know these guys actually like hard water but i don't want to overdo it either.


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Not sure if it would eat egg shells but you can certainly try. I drop food in at night and remove anything not eaten the next morning. And talk about never seeing them? The only time I see mine is when I open the feeding flap and chase them off the filter and back into the tank (its an Ecilpse so the filter is up inside the hood - they sit on it almost all of the time)! I rarely see them.  I'm going to get a small internal submersible filter though, the kind for reptile tanks, so I can lower the water level so even when they do climb up, they'll still be visible.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

I'll give it a try with the shells, if not I stole 4 raw shrimp from my local grocery store  Like hell I was going to pay just for 4. Next time I'll ask nicely tho if they'll just give them to me 
So what kind of critters do you have? Red claws as well?


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Yup!  Love em.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

As do I  They're a lot of fun.
Hey, I don't mean to sound needy, I know I've already posted a LOT of questions and your help is greatly appreciated, but here's a few more 
Have your crabs molted? I've read that they do so about once every couple of months. I've had mine for a month and I'm just trying to get a feel for things, know what to expect.
I noticed about a week ago that the tip of the triangle that forms on the underside of the crab seems to be a bit detached from the rest of the body. Is that a bad sign, normal, or just getting close to molting?
You can kinda see it in this bad close-up, its that protruding tip right between her claws.
http://img185.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1007109fz6.jpg
Here's a couple of more pics of her that I took yesterday to show off to my friends.
http://bp0.blogger.com/_dy1pxxJU5hU...ADQ/jmm9dqwlx_8/s1600-h/Red+Clawed+Crab+1.JPG
http://bp2.blogger.com/_dy1pxxJU5hU...ADY/94J63WZcJlc/s1600-h/Red+Clawed+Crab+2.JPG


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Mine have molted but don't seem to do it on any regular schedule. Sometimes twice a month, sometimes not for a couple of months. First time I thought the damn thing had died, the molting is an exact duplicate down to the eyeballs and the tiny nubby bumps on the claws! Its amazing. And the most amazing part to me is if you take it out of the tank and let it dry, you'll never be able to figure out where the dang thing came out! I have yet to find an exit point. There's no apparent hole or anything large enough for its body to get out, so how on earth did it get out? 

No idea about the underside thing, never noticed it on mine.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

Heh, nice, I heard about that, many people panick because they think the crabby died.
Not worried about the underside yet, but I'll keep an eye on it. If you have a look at yours let me know if you see something similar.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

I want to add a piece of driftwood in the tank but I can't get myself to spend 10 or more dollars for one. I have a piece of driftwood that came with a 75g and has been used for at least one year in it, freshwater.
Pic:
http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/7826/driftwoodel6.jpg
I was told that I should not use that piece in brackish as it may rot or otherwise cause water problems. It hasn't caused any problems in the fresh aquarium, no molding, no decay whatsoever. Can I really not use it at all? If not, what should I look for then?


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Nope, driftwood doesn't work with salt. Artificial driftwood is better.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

Boo!
While I was going through some boxes today I found an under the desk lamp, fluorescent, 15w. It fits the brackish tank perfectly but the crabby doesn't like it. Guess I'll just use it for the betta tank.

I got the eBay refractometer through the mail today. It seems my hydrometer is off by 2 points. I dropped some tap water to make sure the refractometer was calibrated [read zero] and then compared. The refractometer was right at 1.005, the hydrometer was showing almost 1.007. Bleh!


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Need to use distilled water to calibrate and clean the refractometer. A gallon will cost you under $1 from the grocery store and will last ages.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

Um, remember that part that I said something on her underside was sticking out? Well, I just noticed that her entire underside just popped open like a car's hood. She's hanging out on the rock like she usually does. I hope she's just beginning to molt because otherwise I don't think it's a good sign ...
Here's a pic.
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/4396/1007115wa8.jpg
I'll try my best not to disturb her.


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Definitely freaky!  Hopefully that's how they molt. I've never seen mine do that.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

Lol, this morning I did another water change as nitrItes continue to be trouble [.5] and the bottom part of the crabby seems to be back on as before! What the? Did she just pop open the hood demanding an oil change? Should I drop some 5W30 in there? ROTFL!
I'll monitor closely to see what the heck that was about. I'm hoping it's not because of stress induced by the water condition. I'm using Prime and doing daily water changes, I just need to get some plants from a local forum pal that promised them like 3 weeks ago >_<

My old hydrometer is pissing me off. When you make the brackish water, roughly how much salt are you adding per gallon Puffer Pita? I'm doing 2 tbsp and this comes up to about 1.005-1.006 on the refractometer. The darn hydrometer is showing more like 1.007. I know the refracto is accurate because I dropped some tap water and it was right at zero. The one thing they're both consisent on is the PPT, which is right at 10.


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

I'd go with the refractometer. Hydrometers are difficult to calibrate and therefore are often inaccurate. Should be using distilled water to calibrate and clean the refractometer though.

Hey, at least they aren't like cane toads, who eat their molted skin. Blech!


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

True, they don't eat their molted skin, but they do eat their own shell to replenish all the calcium lost. Crabby didn't really go for the eggshell so I'm going to get her some cuttlebone.

So when you mix your brackish, how much salt do you add per gallon? I'm still measuring stuff in but I think I found the common ground which will keep the salinity level with no fluctuations: 2 tbsp per gallon.

Right now I'm reading some info on how many seashells to add in order to raise the water's PH. It's at 7.6, reds seem to like it between 7.5 and 8.0. I know I don't _have_ to raise it, but some more shells will help the tank look nicer.
Can you recommend a vendor to get driftwood or bogwood from? I'll hit the LFSs as well, see what they got.


----------



## fishbone (Jan 15, 2007)

How about some malaysian trumpet snails? I just read about them today. They are good for eating waste and algae, they will sift the sand thus preventing anaerobic pockets. The drawback is that they can reproduce like crazy if plenty of food.
I am thinking about getting some, their purpose would be two-fold: help maintain the 5.5g freshwater and serve as food for my crabby in the brackish tank. Would that work? Red clawed and fiddler crabs DO eat these snails, right?


----------

