Horseshoe crab?

[Txag96]

i am thinking about getting one. I have a 60 gal tank with some zoas, green star polyps, a few acans, and 6 fish. Fox face, blue tang, royal gramma, clown, pajama cardinal, and a bangai cardinal.
Several hermits, 1 sally lightfoot, various snails, emerald crabs, and a blood and cleaner shrimp.
Anything I should be concerned with?

 

[Katrina71]

I may be wrong here, but I believe they require a larger tank and very deep sand to survive very long.

 

[Katrina71]

I may be wrong here, but I believe they require a larger tank and very deep sand to survive very long.

 

[Katrina71]

I may be wrong here, but I believe they require a larger tank and very deep sand to survive very long.

 

[Katrina71]

I may be wrong here, but I believe they require a larger tank and very deep sand to survive very long.

 

[Katrina71]

I may be wrong here, but I believe they require a larger tank and very deep sand to survive very long.

 

[Katrina71]

I may be wrong here, but I believe they require a larger tank and very deep sand to survive very long.

 

[Katrina71]

Sorry. Glitch.

 

[Txag96]

Sorry. Glitch.

The one I am looking at is an inch and a half long. Do they grow that fast?

 

[Katrina71]

The one I am looking at is an inch and a half long. Do they grow that fast?

I was told they all need about 12" of sand to thrive. Also Live Aquaria recommends 180 gallon minimum.

 

[keddre]

Lol, +1 on Katrina's four posts. I didn't get it as it wasn't right for me, but they need at-least 10 cm. of sand because they flip over by digging their tail into the sand and using it as a lever. Also like nassarius snails, they like to completely hide under the sand so they need to be able to cover their whole body which may be greater than 10 cm. as they get larger.

It may be hard to feed them to as they have the same feeding habits as sand shifting stars, they will shift through the sand and eat most of the life they encounter. I imagine that you would be able to feed them by massaging food into the sand, but I have no way test their theory.

Lastly, are you getting a saltwater or brackish water crab? Brackish water ones are smaller, but they are also brackish

 

[Txag96]

Lol, +1 on Katrina's four posts. I didn't get it as it wasn't right for me, but they need at-least 10 cm. of sand because they flip over by digging their tail into the sand and using it as a lever. Also like nassarius snails, they like to completely hide under the sand so they need to be able to cover their whole body which may be greater than 10 cm. as they get larger.

It may be hard to feed them to as they have the same feeding habits as sand shifting stars, they will shift through the sand and eat most of the life they encounter. I imagine that you would be able to feed them by massaging food into the sand, but I have no way test their theory.

Lastly, are you getting a saltwater or brackish water crab? Brackish water ones are smaller, but they are also brackish

Really don't know much about them. I have not set my heart on it, just thought it would be a neat and interesting piece to my little piece of the ocean. I only have about 2 inches of sand, so it doesn't look like I will be adding one. I am looking for something to replace my diamond goby, which still managed to jump out even though I have put a frigging lid on it. Not sure how, must have been when I was doing a water change and didn't notice it until the next day.

 

[Katrina71]

Really don't know much about them. I have not set my heart on it, just thought it would be a neat and interesting piece to my little piece of the ocean. I only have about 2 inches of sand, so it doesn't look like I will be adding one. I am looking for something to replace my diamond goby, which still managed to jump out even though I have put a frigging lid on it. Not sure how, must have been when I was doing a water change and didn't notice it until the next day.

I'm sorry for your loss. Ever thought about a yellow watchman and pistol shrimp? My son has them and they have a really cool relationship. You see them all the time too.

 

[keddre]

I'm sorry for your loss. Ever thought about a yellow watchman and pistol shrimp? My son has them and they have a really cool relationship. You see them all the time too.

+1, plus when paired they are more willing to come out and claim/overturn more sand area

 

[Ncreefer]

I had a horseshoe crabs years ago. There like a bull dozer. anything on sand bed will be moved

 

[drblakjak55]

I'm sorry for your loss. Ever thought about a yellow watchman and pistol shrimp? My son has them and they have a really cool relationship. You see them all the time too.

Haven’t seen my watchman or pistol shrimp since I put them into the tank, 90g, but you sure can hear the pistol.

 

[Katrina71]

Haven’t seen my watchman or pistol shrimp since I put them into the tank, 90g, but you sure can hear the pistol.

Just curious if your ywg is male or female?

 

[Rip Van Winkle]

I'm not the type to discourage people from trying things but honestly on this one, a horseshoe crab is a really bad idea for a home aquarium. For the reasons given above.

I'm sorry for your loss. Ever thought about a yellow watchman and pistol shrimp? My son has them and they have a really cool relationship. You see them all the time too.

+1 also

Yasha goby and tiger pistol shrimp.

Another nice combo is the twin spot signal goby pair (M & F) if you can find them. These are really awesome sand sifters.

 

[robert teseo]

it will NOT live long term. there's not enough food for them in a tank. I live on the bay with access to them.they are the hardest things to keep alive in a local tank I have. I gave up on them.

 

[Txag96]

Thanks for all of the input everyone. One of the great things about this forum is that we can pick each others brains and experiences to help us make a smart choice.