So I really want to introduce something else to my tank, but want to think it through before hand to avoid any heartaches.

The tank already has the usual snails, some micro brittles, and a pair of clowns, so what I wanted was some other inverts. The wife is completely opposed to ANY shrimp (I know ) so it will have to be some sort of crabs. I want to do some acro crabs once my sps gets a little more established, so I will need something compatible with them as well.

NOW, here's the tricky part: are there any reef, fish, and invert safe crabs that will spend any amount of time out of water? I have a 2"x2" spot of rock that is exposed to air and it would be interesting to have something to take advantage of that.

My original thoughts were a porcelain crab, so if there isn't anything else I will probably stick with that. Input?

Any thoughts? I really want a crab.

Konolua keeps crabs in his tank that live in both the water and 'land' on his volcano.

Yeah I remember that, but wasn't too sure about size requirements, how reef / fish safe they were, and exact needs. I'm honestly just too lazy to read the whole thread right now to find any info, but I guess I'll have to!

I really like that setup, only could make it better if you had some tide action so it was submerged part of the time. Very few reef dwellers sold to us would take advantage of the dry land, and critters that i've seen that would venture out of the water would need more space than that to really do well. That said, especially if it's kept wet I'd expect to see some snails and hermits which would venture out there. Maybe put some damp seaweed there every once in a while with some trailing into the tank and see if anything goes for it.

A crab very well may, but at the same time they may find no advantage to it being so exposed and dry. If you can entice them to go up, it may just work.

Pom Pom crabs seem cool. I would suggest harlequin shrimp but...

Yeah, that was my thought as well. I guess it just isn't enough room for anything to work out. Oh well!



Yeah, big no on the Harleys from the wife lol. I was originally planning on them once I got the skimmer in place, but it will have to be a crab now...

If you read through konolua's thread, he posts in there about how some crabs just need to get out of the water briefly to aerate or something. So just a patch of exposed ground fits the bill. Maybe pm him.

Pom pom crab is the coolest crab you will never see, trust me...

I will probably read through his thread tonight, and will PM him if I still have questions. Thanks for that info though!

I don't really like the pom poms, so meh. I'm really liking the idea of a porcelain crab and a few acro crabs, as long as I can't find something to take advantage of that space.

BUT, speaking of that above water space, I have a question that I didn't want to start another thread for. I have also been thinking about trying to grow something on that piece of rock, just something small that will change the look up a bit. I am speaking of a plant or algae, not coral, as the rock only stays moist, it is not fully submerged.

cool ! tagging along, I like the little dry chunk. Too bad about the shrimp, but they wouldn't venture out of the water anyway. Some sort of crab might be the best bet. I like the plant idea too !

Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia!

Ummm, someone should get that and grow GSP on it...just saying.

It's doesn't even look like him... the GSP would have little effect.



If it was a dennis rodman chia though.....

LOL I just meant to have something interesting for the GSP to grow on. But really, any chia pet would work great. Aren't they just terra cotta, like the pots? If so, they would still be safe for aquariums....



Any more thoughts on the inverts / rock cropping growth?

I suggested a fiddler crab to you when I saw your tank and you said wifey didn't want crabs, well since crabs are in go with a fiddle crab.

Acropora crabs and/or porcelain crabs are a different genus and wouldn't expose themselves out of water.

Go with a Sally Light Foot, they need access to land and would probably work well! Make sure that the exposed rock is not hot, otherwise you may end up with a small cocktail appetizer! They need to come out of water but will heat up too much internally if the rock is hot. If you can "feel" the light on your hand, it will be too hot. Remember, the crabs have sacs in their carapace (skeleton) that houses water with gills to breathe like a fish. A portable aquarium! That water will heat very quickly and cause imbalance quickly in the crabs. Same goes for cold.

You could try the red fiddler crabs that are sometimes used as "feeder" crabs for larger fish. They would probably do just as well as the Sally Light Foot, but are harder to find. They would spend more time out of water than inside, so the heat thing is even more important for them.

Good luck!

She changed her mind lol. Good thought now though!



Yeah I was only planning on going with them if I couldn't find a suitable crab to go out of the water. So, my questions now, are, would the fiddler get along with the porcelain / acros? And would any of the sally lightfoots be okay? I really want one like this instead of the typical blue/black one:


Edit: Oops, I'm dumb. I did my research, and now see that the ones I see commonly are juveniles. Got it!

This guy is from the Galapagos Islands....and is not imported. Internet guys post the picture and claim that is what you get. They call it a Sally Light Foot even though it is a Grapsus grapsus. The ones you will find are Percnon gibbessi crabs.

The fiddlers won't touch anyone. They will be annoyed by the fish and it is funny in fact. They are scanvegers. Same with the Sally Light Foots. In captivity, many things change behavior though, so anything is possible, but I would think you should feel very comfortable with any combo described.

Yeah I did a little more reading after I posted, and realized that these get pretty big anyway so it wouldn't work out. Shame, as they are beautiful. And good to know about the crabs, now I will just need to find ones available...

Cool. Well, I expect MANY pictures when you find one(s)!

Pfft, I am obsessed with my tank so I take more pictures than people actually want to see. I'm leaning more toward the fiddler, as I really am not a fan of the sally lightfoots available.

John Maloney and I are in the planning stages of creating something unique for my exposed rock portion...stay tuned...

Looking forward to it!

I think a porcelain crab would be cool.

also...
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_di...amp;pcatid=2913

Honestly I love crabs, so I would love to incorporate a few into this system to make up for the fact that my clownfish most likely will not be staying in it for very long.

Porcelain crab, fiddler crab, squat lobster, and once the acros grow out 2 acro crabs? Would I have massive fighting problems, or does that seem safe?

Dude some bleenies can go outta water but im pretty sure there cold water. English bleenies can breathe outta water i doubt hed get up there but you never know and in texas we have the little land crabs with one huge claw and they go in and out of water but i think they burrow in mud don't know the real name for the but they go in and out of water.

Those are fiddler crabs as well. Uca sp.....they're probably yellow with long eyes? Even if not, there are over 50 species of fiddlers....though in the industry for trade, the red ones are the most "common." There are brown ones that are typically featured as "fresh water" crabs even though they are full brackish...even closer to sea water....but a high salinity level and no freshwater option would make them a bad choice.



Find the little red guys those! It will be great! Remember too, the acropora crabs won't leave the acropora, so you will have no fighting issues. Do note, you have to feed them though. Many people forget to feed their little acropora crabs!

Yeah I am planning on feeding everyone to keep them happy.

Now if someone could help find a source for the red fiddlers. Also, if they happened to carry porcelain that would be great to save money...I searched last night and had a hard time finding fiddlers that weren't the brackish ones...

Still looking for an internet supplier for you. Here's what they look like in case you have seen them in your LFS.

Here's some spots.

http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/2819/product.web
http://atlanticreefstore.com/store1/index....p;productId=925

So that's what those weird orange and purple crabs were that I was watching at petco. I'd never seen a marine crab with eye stalks before.... Glad you posted that and solved my little mystery.

I hope you can find them, schg. I'd love to see pics if you do.

Fiddler Crabs are sold here:
http://www.aquaculturestore.com./swinverts.html

Thanks so much man, helps a lot.



Hmmm....I wonder if my Petco can get these....



Thanks, but I don't want to order 15! lol

They don't go out of the water, but harlequin shrimp? So legit.

Those are land crabs that require tons of land and mostly fresh water (not even true brackish water).....

I know, I wish I could.



He said marine, so I assume he was talking about what you had pictured.

"So that's what those weird orange and purple crabs were that I was watching at petco. I'd never seen a marine crab with eye stalks before.... Glad you posted that and solved my little mystery."

Maybe he was confused.

Damn, I was hoping I was the only one planning on having a squat lobster

Yeah, it was the crab konalua pictured that I saw at a petco in NYC. They were about a dozen of them in a marine invert tank. No lables, and no where for them to go out of the water.

And, not that you'd know this, but I'm actually she.

LOL sorry Vic, at least they still won't be common.



Sorry, she!
If you happen to see them again, try to get a SKU for me so I can try to get them locally. One of the Petcos here can actually get a decent amount of stuff, so I will try my luck there.



OH, PS: I was at Sea in the City and Marcye said I could have a porcelain for free. It's a blue one, which I wasn't planning on getting, but he's still cool nontheless.

When I was there last, there was no sticker for them, but if they still have them I can try and get one of the hapless employees to find out a sku for you. Hopefully someone in the store keeps track of those things...

They should have a PO for each order they get. I can try and find out locally, but when I last looked at the list from the distributer it was like 25 pages long....

Petvopetco sku 196576
Crab medium fiddler color, $4.29 each.

Had my store order 5 so I could try to get a pair.

Be careful....one is probably enough...remember, you don't have that much space up there. They aren't buddy buddy like some fish get. Crabs are solitary creatures.

I didn't pay, they just order 5 and sell what I don't want. So if I can find a male and a female, great, if not I'll go for one. But if you don't even think I should pair them, then I can just go with one and scrap that whole idea.

I wouldn't say scrap it, because the life YOU can provide them is certainly better than what a PetCo can!

However, just note, like with corals/fish/etc., to monitor habitat versus occupancy. Like if someone wanted to put 2 clownfish in a 1g pico, we'd all say NO! Your situation isn't like that (don't take me wrong), but just think it through.

Maybe a small piece of tonga or something so you have another exit from the water?

I've got 2 pieces of tonga I could probably lift up a bit so they stick out. Might have to rescape a bit, but nothing impossible. To be honest though, it was more of an impulse to want 2 than anything. The price made me happy, so I thought a pair would be interesting, but I really don't NEED them. I will most likely just stick to 1 and let him be happy and healthy. I will still tell them to order 3 probably, that way I can make sure it's the right one. I have a feeling this is going to be some stupid "assorted" crab thing like they usually do.

You beat me to it. I didn't get a chance to get there until today. All the crabs are gone so they had to figure it out by memory. After some searching, they gave me the same sku number you got, said they are listed as marine fiddler crabs.

Count yourself lucky on the price. Up here they're $11 each!

Ouch, that sucks! Prices are different at different stores though, I found a AC70 for $12 on clearance at the one I used to livve near, but they're still almost $100 in florida.

My LFS had fiddler crabs in thier saltwater, I think they would use the land, the guy at the fish store did not know for sure if they were reef safe, though. You should reserch them.

I'm having the worst luck finding these things...I really don't want to pay almost $40 for a $5 crab!