hermies and fiddlers?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 9:36 pm

aren't they marine crabs mainly?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 9:38 pm

red claw crabs....i saw those at WalMart. They need lots of water, too i think. I looked them up because I was thinking about getting one...

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 10:36 pm

I just bought a red clawed crab the other day, he's really cool! I want one of those soap dish crabs! I would even set up a separate tat for one or two

. I think they are neat!

Xena · Post by **Xena** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 12:22 pm

anish wrote:I just bought a red clawed crab the other day, he's really cool! I want one of those soap dish crabs! I would even set up a separate tat for one or two . I think they are neat!

They were a good size crab when I saw them! And insanely fiesty...

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 12:56 pm

Well, I got some finally! I got two, and I managed to get them and my two hermits in my ten gallon (but in a couple weeks I'm getting a 20 gallon). Thanks for all the input. Btw, is it normal for the fids to spend little (or hardly any) time in their pool? They seem to prefer running aound in the sand and climbing all over the hermits.

poncho · Post by **poncho** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 1:10 pm

When I first brought mine home they stayed on land for awhile to but now they spend more time in the water,I have a 4gallon brackish pool for them and both my hermies and fids go in, the fids will go in the fresh water aswell, I think they are so fun to have with the crabbies

I was surprised to see how much they do hang out on land.Petsmart had them in the water no way to get out on land...poor things

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 1:25 pm

It was the same way at WalMart...crab-in-a-cup

No hermits, just reds...

aquav · Post by **aquav** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 2:50 pm

poncho wrote:When I first brought mine home they stayed on land for awhile to but now they spend more time in the water

Same here. It seems as if they needed to explore their new home.

Poncho, I want to see pics of your habitat, pleeeeeease...

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 11:37 pm

Wow it sounds great. If you can do it in a 10g then my 29 should be big enough

So does the brackish water suffice as the salt water source for the Hermie's too or would I still need a salt water pool for them too?

aquav · Post by **aquav** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:03 am

You still need salt water. The salt concentration in brackish water is not high enough.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 4:39 pm

@ aquav - I just mixed in aquarium salt with the water before I added it to the pond. Is that 'brackish' or does it need more? Also, how much and what kind of salt do the hermits need in their salty water?

aquav · Post by **aquav** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:48 pm

Here is a link that explains it detailed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brackish_water

I basically wing it most of the time and just fill the pond with freshwater and add a little bit of pre-mixed saltwater to it, just to get the concentration up a little. I do have a refractometer with which I can measure it, but honestly, I have not used it for a while. Sometimes I catch the fids in the saltwater pond, just sitting there. And sometimes in the freshwater pond. But they do mostly hang out in the brackish pool.
So they may be like the hermies and get what they need themselves, as long as all three ponds are provided.
As far as the kind of salt, any aquarium salt will do, but Instant Ocean is a very good one for example. You can buy it at the pet store in small bags and it will last a long time. Another good way is to buy pre-mixed saltwater at a live fish store if you have one around where you live. This is what I do, a little more expensive, but a lot easier. They should sell it to you in small amounts, a gallon for example, which will last quite a while.
Do not use table salt however! It is harmful to the crabs.
Hope this helps.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 6:09 pm

now, if I get some E's, will the saltwater that I use for the pp's be sufficient, or do they also need ANOTHER separate pond. Also (this, too, is probably an ignorant question), but do E's get along with fids fine as well?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 6:38 pm

all hermit crabs can use the same type of salt water

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 8:56 pm

ISTARI_FREAK wrote:now, if I get some E's, will the saltwater that I use for the pp's be sufficient, or do they also need ANOTHER separate pond. Also (this, too, is probably an ignorant question), but do E's get along with fids fine as well?

I don't know about the E's getting along with Fids, but they do not need a special salt water pool. The same one you use for your PP's is what they also like.