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-   -   Any one else in NYC keeping Geosesarma Crabs? (http://forum.brooklynaquariumsociety.org/showthread.php?t=1175)

mellowvision May 27th, 2011 04:25 PM

Any one else in NYC keeping Geosesarma Crabs?
 
Would love to hear about your crabs!

Here's a couple of mine.

http://mellowvision.com/topsecret/wp...05/MG_4032.jpg

http://mellowvision.com/topsecret/wp...05/MG_4016.jpg

a few more shots over at mellowvision.com

stevem May 31st, 2011 09:06 PM

very cool looking crabs, i never seen these in the local stores

mellowvision June 2nd, 2011 05:27 PM

no, you probably won't see these in stores for quite some time, they are still gaining popularity. These particular Geosesarma's haven't even been officially described by the scientific community.

Halfbeaks1 July 9th, 2011 10:39 PM

How are yours doing? I had 6 and now down to 2 (I only have them for two months) The tank is well decorated and I have been trying all types of food. The only time I see them is when they come out to die.

mellowvision July 10th, 2011 01:24 AM

Mine are doing great. They do hide quite a bit, and I never see all 8 of them at once, but they are getting much more comfortable, and will allow me to feed them by hand and from a tiny spoon every once in a while. I haven't seen any dead crabs. These are said to be really easy to keep, it's too bad yours aren't doing so well. What is their environment like? what foods are you trying? I've been feeding wingless fruitflies, blood worms, and Hikari Crab cuisine. They will eat almost anything, but it's important to keep their calcium intake high, and the water clean.

Halfbeaks1 July 10th, 2011 02:01 AM

I have been feeding pinhead crickets. Earthworm flakes and pellet fish food. Do you put the bloodworms in the main water supply or in a separate feeding dish. I use cuttle bone for calcium (The crickets are doing great and I remove them when they get to large). I use coco bedding and two separate water dishes one large and one small, some plastic plants and cork tubes for them to hide in. I also spray the tank a couple of times a day. Thanks for your help.

mellowvision July 10th, 2011 02:30 AM

oh I see, sounds like you have more of a traditional terrarium set up for them... I have mine in a paludarium with about 11 gallons of water, it's a 45 gallon tank. Most of the terrain is cork, with a lot of live plants and moss. I keep the tank at 100% humidity almost all the time, I have constant drip walls running on the cork. they spend a lot of time in the drip, not as much under water. (photos over at mellowvision.com)

Do you keep the coco damp? Mine don't burrow as much as I had expected, but I've read that they do much better with damp burrows, especially if they're breeding. Do you have anything under the coco for drainage?

I put the blood worms on a rock on dry land, and they are usually taken within a few hours. Fruitflies, they will jump at really quickly, especially the younger crabs which will double fist them. I haven't tried crickets. Are you dusting the crickets with calcium? I don't do it every time, but I frequently dust the flies with Repashy calcium before feeding. The breeder I got them from also recommended Repashy Superpig to bring out more color, but I haven't tried that, nor have I noticed anything but bright reds. I also have springtails in the tank, and shrimp and daphnia in the water. I've never seen them eat or even attack a shrimp, but I have less shrimp than when I started.

My crabs actually seem to eat a fair amount of plant matter, mostly twigs from the substrate and the growth tips of smaller mosses. I wonder if they need some vegetation? I don't think cuttle bone will help them that much in terms of calcium... it may help to buffer the water, but unless they're eating it, they're not going to benefit that much. (are they eating it? ) They might be coming out to moult, and then dying from complications from lack of calcium. Do you see any signs of them chewing the plastic plants? Seems out there, but if they consider it a plant and eat it, I could see that being problematic.


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