Crabs for species only tank

[InvertEnjoyer]

Do you know of any good true crabs for a species only tank? I have been thinking about getting a gorilla crab or calico crab but wondering if any of you have some suggestions.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Do you know of any good true crabs for a species only tank? I have been thinking about getting a gorilla crab or calico crab but wondering if any of you have some suggestions.

What size of tank are you looking at?

 

[InvertEnjoyer]

What size of tank are you looking at?

Any size up to a 40 or 60 breeder.

 

[Steve and his Animals]

I've had a blast keeping the true box/shameface crabs (genus Calappa) in the past. Very unique looking and fun to watch skitter about. Easy to keep too. Don't expect to keep other little inverts with them, they literally carved open the shells of cerith snails, leaving just the internal spiral intact.

 

[InvertEnjoyer]

I've had a blast keeping the true box/shameface crabs (genus Calappa) in the past. Very unique looking and fun to watch skitter about. Easy to keep too. Don't expect to keep other little inverts with them, they literally carved open the shells of cerith snails, leaving just the internal spiral intact.

Definitely gonna consider those (relatively) little guys.

 

[Steve and his Animals]

Here's one of the two I had a long while ago.

 

[Tired]

In a tank that size, you could probably slap in a divider and keep a couple.

Gimme a bit, let me see if I can find this place that was selling some really cute little shellback crabs. Like a hermit crab, except it's a true crab that wears a clamshell instead of a fake crab in a snail shell.

Edit: https://gulfspecimen.org/specimen/arthropoda/true-crabs/ Check out all the cool stuff they have! They have a minimum order limit, but that shouldn't be too hard to reach, with all the cool beasties you can buy.

 

[Steve and his Animals]

In a tank that size, you could probably slap in a divider and keep a couple.

Gimme a bit, let me see if I can find this place that was selling some really cute little shellback crabs. Like a hermit crab, except it's a true crab that wears a clamshell instead of a fake crab in a snail shell.

True Crabs - Gulf Specimen Marine Lab

True brachyuran crabs have powerful chelae which they use to rip fish and even snails apart. To get pinched by one can be a memorable experience. Some swim, while others crawl, creep and sidle. It’s best to keep them in separate aquaria or they may eat your prized tank mates. Watch crab videos...

gulfspecimen.org

I've yet to order from here, but I definitely want those flame-streaked box crabs and those shellbacks you were talking about. I also wanted to play around with the purse crabs they sell. I have no idea how their ordering schedule works/how often they have things in stock, but I'm willing to give it a shot in the next month or two.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Personally, I like decorator crabs (and crabs with similar habits like the ones that carry sponges or bivalve shells on their backs) and sponge crabs (family Dromiidae). The box crabs like mentioned above are really cool too. There are also specimens like purse crabs (Persephona mediterranea) and swimming crabs (Portunus gibbesii).

The site below* lists most of these and a few others that might be cool (though I don't know how much room the larger ones would need).

True Crabs - Gulf Specimen Marine Lab

True brachyuran crabs have powerful chelae which they use to rip fish and even snails apart. To get pinched by one can be a memorable experience. Some swim, while others crawl, creep and sidle. It’s best to keep them in separate aquaria or they may eat your prized tank mates. Watch crab videos...

gulfspecimen.org

*Steve and his Animals beat me to the link.

 

[Rtaylor]

How about Platypodiella spectabilis?

 

[InvertEnjoyer]

In a tank that size, you could probably slap in a divider and keep a couple.

Gimme a bit, let me see if I can find this place that was selling some really cute little shellback crabs. Like a hermit crab, except it's a true crab that wears a clamshell instead of a fake crab in a snail shell.

Edit: https://gulfspecimen.org/specimen/arthropoda/true-crabs/ Check out all the cool stuff they have! They have a minimum order limit, but that shouldn't be too hard to reach, with all the cool beasties you can buy.

I think I’ll go with a calico, was my first invert. It died weeks after I got it but I have much more experience with inverts now, so I’ll try again.

 

[Rtaylor]

Or you could do anemones with porcelain crabs, that’s a fun relationship to watch.

 

[InvertEnjoyer]

True Crabs - Gulf Specimen Marine Lab

True brachyuran crabs have powerful chelae which they use to rip fish and even snails apart. To get pinched by one can be a memorable experience. Some swim, while others crawl, creep and sidle. It’s best to keep them in separate aquaria or they may eat your prized tank mates. Watch crab videos...

gulfspecimen.org

I've yet to order from here, but I definitely want those flame-streaked box crabs and those shellbacks you were talking about. I also wanted to play around with the purse crabs they sell. I have no idea how their ordering schedule works/how often they have things in stock, but I'm willing to give it a shot in the next month or two.

True Crabs - Gulf Specimen Marine Lab

True brachyuran crabs have powerful chelae which they use to rip fish and even snails apart. To get pinched by one can be a memorable experience. Some swim, while others crawl, creep and sidle. It’s best to keep them in separate aquaria or they may eat your prized tank mates. Watch crab videos...

gulfspecimen.org

I've yet to order from here, but I definitely want those flame-streaked box crabs and those shellbacks you were talking about. I also wanted to play around with the purse crabs they sell. I have no idea how their ordering schedule works/how often they have things in stock, but I'm willing to give it a shot in the next month or two.

I really love those little shellbacks, but I have no idea what the care requirements are other than basic parameters.

 

[InvertEnjoyer]

How about Platypodiella spectabilis?

A little small for my liking, might be able to have it in my mixed reef.

 

[InvertEnjoyer]

Or you could do anemones with porcelain crabs, that’s a fun relationship to watch.

Or you could do anemones with porcelain crabs, that’s a fun relationship to watch.

I’ve never kept anemones but I could try

 

[Tired]

I have no idea about the shellbacks either. I assume it's pretty basic crab care: give them meaty foods and/or pellets, make sure they have somewhere to hide. These would need clam shells to hide in, but, looking at the body shape and claws, they look like pretty much a crab.

If anyone knows anything about the shellbacks, lemme know! They're super cute, I'd love to try one in a display 'fuge.

 

[Tired]

Rock flower anemones are very easy to keep, somewhere between LPS and soft corals. Established tank, meaty foods once a week. Put 'em at the base of a rock with some sand around it, and they'll stay in place unless incredibly bothered. Then add a porcelain crab or two, and enjoy your fake crabs!
(Porcelains are squat lobsters, not crabs.)

 

[Rtaylor]

Rock flower anemones are very easy to keep, somewhere between LPS and soft corals. Established tank, meaty foods once a week. Put 'em at the base of a rock with some sand around it, and they'll stay in place unless incredibly bothered. Then add a porcelain crab or two, and enjoy your fake crabs!
(Porcelains are squat lobsters, not crabs.)

Oops!

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I have no idea about the shellbacks either. I assume it's pretty basic crab care: give them meaty foods and/or pellets, make sure they have somewhere to hide. These would need clam shells to hide in, but, looking at the body shape and claws, they look like pretty much a crab.

If anyone knows anything about the shellbacks, lemme know! They're super cute, I'd love to try one in a display 'fuge.

This is pretty much all the info I can find them, with a relevant but informationally lacking quote above the link:
"During the juvenile and adult period they inhabit the sand and coral bottoms from coastal areas, eating small invertebrates."

https://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/sertc/HYPOCONCHA%20som.pdf

 

[Tired]

Nah, no oops; "porcelain crab" is what they're called, and they do act a lot like a very strange crab. Them technically being something else is more of a fun fact than a taxonomical thing.