Red Devil Fiddler Crab

[Aquatic Delight]

so yesterday i bought a couple of these Red Devil Fiddler Crabs. i had a tank all established and ready to be set up for these little guys. i got home and began my research, and found out quickly that there just isn't alot of there on these guys.

i knew going in that they need access to dry land for breathing, and that they are scavangers.


after much research my knowledge has been expanded to they need brackish water to properly survive.

can anyone tell me anything more? does their water need a filter, or agitation? how much water do they? do they actually need dry land, or can i just give them rocks sticking out of the water, or should they have land to walk around on? so on and so forth.

thanks guys

[Aquatic Delight]

so by the lack of response i'll assume this is a stupid question and i should just treat them like a regular fiddler crab?

[GMYukonon24s]

Nothings a stupid question. Sometimes it just takes time. I've never kept any sort of crabs before so I can't help but hopeful someone that has can help. I know its hard but just be patient.

[JunJunJenn]

I think I'm going to have some of these in my next tank. I would say yes to filtration its always a good thing. At my lfs they just have rocks sticking out but i would create a beach area if I were you. Maybe try rocks and a beach and eliminate whatever they don't use.

[AoxomoxoA]

Red Devil Crabs (Geosesarma species) are mainly terrestrial, they only need a small water area if any. High humidity is important. They are not brackish. Their natural habitats are woods, near sources of running fresh water. Toss them some dead or alive crickets or whatever bugs you have lying around. They'll start recognizing you.

Try Googling Geosesarma, you'll get more hits with information you're looking for. HTH

[GMYukonon24s]

I knew someone would eventually chime in.

[AoxomoxoA]

Originally Posted by GMYukonon24s

I knew someone would eventually chime in.

Just gotta be patient sometimes, easy to miss stuff if you're not hitting "new posts" every 10 minutes.

Also, Aquatic Delight, there are no stupid questions. It seems not a lot of people have kept these. This thread & others will have some good info soon --->
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=194216

[slowfoot]

You might have better luck in the 'shrimp and other invertebrates' section, since crabs are neither reptiles nor amphibians

[Aquatic Delight]

Originally Posted by AoxomoxoA

Red Devil Crabs (Geosesarma species) are mainly terrestrial, they only need a small water area if any. High humidity is important. They are not brackish. Their natural habitats are woods, near sources of running fresh water. Toss them some dead or alive crickets or whatever bugs you have lying around. They'll start recognizing you.

Try Googling Geosesarma, you'll get more hits with information you're looking for. HTH

thank you, i couldn't even find anything even giving me a direction to look in.

i tried to giving them live crickets the other day, the had no intrested, however there is no dry land right now just rocks sticking out of the water. which i will be re-doing tues on my day off :-)

Originally Posted by slowfoot

You might have better luck in the 'shrimp and other invertebrates' section, since crabs are neither reptiles nor amphibians

i posted over there and it was suggested i repost here, so there is a link to this thread over there

Originally Posted by AoxomoxoA

Just gotta be patient sometimes, easy to miss stuff if you're not hitting "new posts" every 10 minutes.

Also, Aquatic Delight, there are no stupid questions. It seems not a lot of people have kept these. This thread & others will have some good info soon --->
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=194216

i had no idea that vampire crabs are cared for in a similar manner. thats a good jumping off point. thank you.

Originally Posted by GMYukonon24s

Nothings a stupid question. Sometimes it just takes time. I've never kept any sort of crabs before so I can't help but hopeful someone that has can help. I know its hard but just be patient.

oh i know there isn't, but it gets a little stressful when theres little or no info on the web and no responses here.

[cookymonster760]

yes a better substrate for these is peat moss or coconut fiber with leaf litter, high humidity is a most and a puddle of water not too big just in case humidity gets too low so they can keep themselves moist, they will scavenge for food so dusted crickets will be a good source of food along with spring tails for the babies i would say an emerged set up would work wonderfully with these crabs i will be attempting to breed these right after i get bored of the new killies i just bought so ill let you know how it goes also where did you get your crabs from

[Veneer]

Well, the answer will depend on whether these are "red devil" Geosesarma, which actually aren't fiddler crabs, or some reddish Uca like U. crassipes, which are true fiddlers -- but usually go by other names (like "watermelon fiddler crab").

If they're Uca, they should be treated like regular fiddlers (brackish water and haul-out spots or dedicated land region). Geosesarma are, as noted above, generally more terrestrial than fiddlers (but need plain, unsalted freshwater).

[Aquatic Delight]

they aren't true fiddlers, both claws are about the same size.

they are these guys http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=197701. so i should stop transitioning them into brackishwater?