Crabby paludarium

[Xj52reefing]

I’ve all ways wanted to set up a saltwater paludarium of sorts. Today I finally made my dream come true. Originally this tank was a freshwater paludarium that was set up for some Australian freshwater crabs. The morning that I was going to head over to my lfs to pick them up some people randomly stopped in and bought all 5 of the crabs they had and to make the burn even worse the breeder that the lfs got them from had all of their crabs die. This misfortune is what lead to this tank. 

the specs:

cheapest light I could buy from the big box pet store

Reptile heating mat given to me by a family friend

cheapest filter that you can buy from Kmart (like Walmart but in Australia)

 

the future inhabitants:

I will be going out this weekend to some local mangroves/mudflats to hopefully catch some purple climber crabs

the tank will all so have either snails or hermit crabs I find on the beach

 

If any one has any tips that could help me on this journey they would be much appreciated.

[debbeach13]

Interesting. Is that the total amount of water you are adding? Just curious what kind of filter works in there. Will you be adding any sort of small pump for flow? Is the water and sand also from a local beach?

[ml86743]

1 hour ago, debbeach13 said:

Interesting. Is that the total amount of water you are adding? Just curious what kind of filter works in there. Will you be adding any sort of small pump for flow? Is the water and sand also from a local beach?

To second this, is the rock you're using established with bacteria or dry start?  What about the sand where did that come from? I think animal waste/feeding your inhabitants will foul that volume of water fairly quickly without any sort of filtration (chemical/mechanical/biological).  Like deb said, I am interested in what filter will be used.  For a cheap option, you may want to look into a HOB.  You wont need tons of water movement with crabs/snails and maybe a few macroalgae so the HOB can provide movement and a space to run carbon (or whatever you choose) as well as filter floss to remove large particles.   You may have to raise the water level a hair but I think it would be a cheap/reliable option for a tank like this. 

[Xj52reefing]

The sand and rock are materials I had lying around. Neither one has bacteria in them. The water is all so some saltwater I had from my other tanks. I will raise the water level a little bit as I am now thinking of adding a heater into the water section. For the filter it’s a little internal filter that can be packed with carbon and some sponge. I will add a little bit of media from my main salt tank to get it kick started.

[Xj52reefing]

Got the filter running today as well as the heater. Still need to add a bit more water but it is fine for now.

[Xj52reefing]

Went out today and collected some crabs. I caught nearly 10 crabs of different sizes and types but only ended up bringing about 6 home. I managed to catch 1 decent size purple climber and 2 medium ones. I was all so able to get 2 of another species which I’m not sure if their mud crabs or some other type as their only babies. I all so collected a few snails to help keep the tank clean. I did have the opportunity to keep some soldier crabs but decided my tank wasn’t suitable for their needs. I couldn’t find any macro algae as where I went was mud flats and mangroves. I did run in to a guy that said crabs will do great in a tank and all I have to feed them is some bits of fish.

[banasophia]

Cool, I love crabs… I find them so interesting to watch! Making me want to add crabs to my freshwater tank. 

[Tired]

It's a very cute setup, but those snails are going to go hungry without any algae to eat, and I'd worry that the crabs may grow too large or too aggressive to do well in that setup. It's best to ID animals before adding them to your tank.

 

They should really be fed a more balanced diet than just chunks of muscle meat. A good-quality pellet is probably a good bet.

[Xj52reefing]

2 hours ago, Tired said:

It's a very cute setup, but those snails are going to go hungry without any algae to eat, and I'd worry that the crabs may grow too large or too aggressive to do well in that setup. It's best to ID animals before adding them to your tank.

 

They should really be fed a more balanced diet than just chunks of muscle meat. A good-quality pellet is probably a good bet.

I’ve started feeding them pellets and flakes. The tank has been set up for a little bit and Is starting to grow a little bit of algae. I’ve got other tanks that the snails can go into if they start to look like they need to. I know that 3 of the crabs are purple climbers which nay get to a max size of 4-5cm not including their legs. The other ones I will keep watching to see if they show any aggression to the purple climbers. If they do it’s not to far to take them back to the mangroves.

[Tired]

With some species of crabs, it's less that you'll start seeing aggression and more that you'll start seeing dismembered bits from your other crabs.

 

How large is the tank? I can't quite tell. Any estimate on how much water volume is in there?

[banasophia]

Are you planning on adding some mangroves or macro algae? That could look nice and I wonder if it could help with nutrient control.

[Xj52reefing]

6 hours ago, Tired said:

With some species of crabs, it's less that you'll start seeing aggression and more that you'll start seeing dismembered bits from your other crabs.

 

How large is the tank? I can't quite tell. Any estimate on how much water volume is in there?

The tanks only about 36cm long and 30cm wide. I’m not to sure about the water volume. 

[Xj52reefing]

4 hours ago, banasophia said:

Are you planning on adding some mangroves or macro algae? That could look nice and I wonder if it could help with nutrient control.

I am planing to put some macro algae in there but as far as mangroves go I don’t think it will be possible. Not many people have them for sale in Australia and there illegal to collect from the wild, even just the little seed pods.

[ethans_aquatics]

Super cool, OP. I've always wanted to create something like this as well. Keep us updated!!

[Tired]

Oh, hm- so that's about 12" by 11" in dimension? A 10gal tank is roughly twice that, so I'd guess you have a 5gal there, which means that's very little water. Maybe 2gal, 7 liters, at most- and I'd wager less, since that sand is taking up space.

 

How are you filtering this? That tiny amount of water is going to get nasty fast, particularly as your crabs get larger; a 4cm carapace crab is no small creature for such a little habitat.

 

I would suggest significantly increasing the amount of water. Remove at least half the sand (not least as it'll get nasty eventually if not stirred), add more rockwork to put the top of the rocks much higher, and put in as much water as you can manage. Double or more that much water is still not much at all, but it's something.

 

I'd love to see this setup work out, but you're probably gonna need some major modifications to tank, stock, or both.

[Xj52reefing]

I agree with u that I need to get rid of some of the sand. I’ve got a internal filter that has 2 sponges and a carbon bag. I’m planning to water change it every week and stir up the sand after a little while. I would have used a larger tank but I wasn’t wanting to spend much extra money on this project. There are only 2 decent size crabs in there at the moment but when the others get bigger I will take them back to the mangroves and get some new baby’s.

[Xj52reefing]

Over the weekend I did a water change and increased the water level in the tank. Unfortunately my large purple climber was able to escape the tank and it spent about half a day making its way to the other side of my house. I thought he was going to be alright but I’ve discovered this morning he is dead. There is a decent size drop of a cabinet that he would have had to fall down to get onto the ground. The other 4 crabs are still in there and alive tho. In a couple days I’m going to a small island in the middle of the reef so after I come back I will most likely take the remaining crabs back to the mangroves as I rarely see most of them.