Im not sure what type of crab the orange clawed is. they look cool but they are pretty boring, they move very slow and don't seem aware of whats going on around them.
the purple one is Leptograpsus variegatus. I think they are very interesting, infact I made the tank just to keep one. They are very fast, powerful and aggressive, plus they can grow very big- bigger than a mans hand.. which is probably why the pet trade would never be interested in them. But they seem pretty smart and they have very good eyesight.
I dont think you'l be able to get one over there though sorry. There might be some native crabs though that fill the same niche?

Cool, thanks Weta. Excellent work btw. I've been lurking around this thread for a while.

Yay for nem splitting!!!

FTW!


this tank is quite some win!

I think its cool how you semi-documented a crab molting.

I was amazed at how fast it was, I imagined it would slowly struggle out of its shell but it just burst out!

Interesting. I have found a hermit crab in its shell not moving and thinking it was dead i shook the shell up and down to see if it was living and thinking it was dead because it slipped right out but seconds later came the live hermit crab!

sweet tank!

Tank looks pretty nice. Just wondering....how does it smell?

That is one amazing tank. I love crabs and your tank has such a good variety! I wanted to make a tank just to keep them.

Any new updates on this tank?

I can't smell anything from it. probably because I spray down the sand and rocks with fresh water a few times a week. I drilled a hole in the tank to drain away water from under the land area.



you should do it!


I'm still trying to figure out how to make an outdoor enclosure thats both open and escape-proof.
one of the crabs has turned into a monster. it has eaten a number of the smaller crabs and he chases and fights with the other purple crabs. I've tried a few times to get it out of the tank and failed.
here is a pic of him

scary thing is he's not even 1/4 grown

This tank is amazing! Stunning! Completely awesome biotope weta! WHat is the temp?

id suggest using some shrimp and a hammer

that should get rid of your crab problem, or atleast teach him a lesson

Ta . to be honest I don't know the temp, but it must get into the mid to high 20's as its summer over here at the mo. I realize its warmer than it should be, but the tank is into its 3rd summer and all the creatures that live in the water are still alive. plus the pistol shrimp had babies again a couple of days ago.


I doubt that some shrimps with a hammer would worry him. There are three shrimps with pistols in there and they don't faze him

Looks good. You share an interest with me. I have studied crabs since I was 18...love them. Went through a number of brackish set ups similar to yours and now am doing a reef-style tank.

I too wanted the "open escape-proof" idea and put this together in August.

Anyway, looks great. What is the status now?

I've read through your thread on here and your tank is amazing!
I'd love to do something similar, but it's a very daunting project to take on...
I couldn't do something like that inside though because I live somewhere with very high humidity.

the current status is I'm down to one purple crab. The large male terrorised the tank, it killed one female and pulled half the legs off the other.
It grew too large to hide itself, so I took it out without damaging the tank and released it.
The surviving female has grown all her legs back now and she's doing well.

I love unique tanks like this. Very cool.

Well, that is good the female is still around. Any pictures? (I am a sucker for pictures.....)

I haven't been paying much attention to the tank to be honest, just feeding and water changes..
So no new pics sorry.
I might put in a ventilation system into the hood soon, and an auto top-off for the sump bucket- G
ghetto style of course..

This aquarium is spetacular!Is the best saltwater paludarium of th world!!
Please post new pictures! Update!

dont take this wrong. but i love how this ghetto tank looks absolutely amazing. expanding foam, cut jug over flow, bucket sump, stuff you picked up out side(ha). stunning what you have done

heres a little update on the tank:

Crab is growing slowly, she has just molted again so she is bigger than she is in these pictures. I gave up on the plants because crab liked to rip them out and throw them in the water.



She has devastated the local snail population, she likes to eat a snail every day.


I introduced some new anemones that look nicer than the original ones and are just as hardy. Unfortunately the olive anemones kill these newer ones if they touch them, and now there is only one left.

The olive anemones keep dividing and there are about half a dozen now. I've had to cull a few to stop them from overcrowding.

The summer has been hotter than usual here, and I think the tank has been getting too warm. The creatures are very hardy and can survive but I feel they are stressed by the heat.

I want to make a new tank that is more sophisticated so that it can support a wider range of sea creatures. I've given up on the outdoor idea because I don't have the space, but I've come up with some new plans which I plan on posting on here for feedback. I might post my ideas in the diy topics as well, but I think that the biotope regulars will have the most relevant experience to help me out with temperate water filtration, chillers, stocking extra.
So over the next few days I'll post my plans and I'll be asking for advice which I'll appreciate very much ta

Can't wait to see the new tank design!

I've drawn up some small rough sketches. The concept is pretty complicated and is difficult to draw. Hopefully they are readable..

The concept is based off the original tank, but the land area is a series of rockpools that flow from the top to the main lowest pool.
The different pools could house animals that would otherwise eat each other if they were in the same pool. For instance the olive anemones could have their own wee rockpool away from the pink anemones and shrimp. Pistol shrimp could have their own rockpool away from the crabs etc.



these enlarged sketches are the side views of the tank showing four different rock pools. The rock-work would be made the same way as the original tank Where the foam rock meets the glass I'd paint it mat black as in the original tank.


By this stage I'm too lazy to colour the front elevation. The straight line would be the water line of the front pool.


I got a little confused drawing the plan, so it doesn't quite make sense, so I tried figuring out the layout with an isometric sketch..

I got more confused and gave up as the picture shows. Hopefully it still illustrates the basic concept of the tank..
I plan on making a scale model so I can get a better idea how to fit it all together.

I'll go over my ideas for things like filtration, chilling, pumps extra in my next post

Nice renderings! How big will the tank be?

Very cool, the only problem is you can't view the tidepools very well because you can't look from the top easily.