QuestionHi,
I have so many questions and although I go read information on the different crabbers forums, i only get partial answers to my questions. I just started in July 5, 2008 to own crabs so I am really new at this. I have a 33 gallon tank as a main tank, a 20 gallon for an ISO and I put my poor new bully crab in a 5.5 Gallon. I bought my crabs at our Walmart. They are all Ecuadorians. I bought a first bunch of six but one died within 12 hours. then a week later I went back and they had some cute one and a little one who was missing a leg but was very active so I bought 4 more(one that hardly moved). They told me I had a 7 days guarantee. the one died I do not know exactly when because I was basically just giving them water and food and noticed he was not moving but I did not want to touch him because he was new and I know we have to let them distress but the fish smell started and I knew who it was. So I went back to Walmart to get a new one but they only had a big one left(big to me,the size of a pingpong ball) When I put him in my ISO tank he went to my other crab and grabbed his shell and King my other crab started chirping and was completely inside his shell. So I tried putting the new big guy in my main tank but he was digging where I knew I had crabs under possibly molting(which now I can confirm as the one came up with very sharp ends of legs) So I stuck the poor new bully one on the only tank not occupied in my house, a 5.5 gallon one. He has been eating, has not changed shells even if I put 6 different ones in their one being the same as the one from the crab he was bullying. How long should I wait until I try reintroducing him again the main tank. It has been a week and a half now. All my tanks are kept at the same temp and humidity which in temps 80-82 and humidity 76-80 depending on period of the day. My main tank has 6 inch deep of beach sand and EE but my 5.5 gallon only has 3 inch. He can completely bury himself. I am not sure what to do. I make sure I give him a variety of good foods, shrimps, krill, fruits and vegetables, worm castings, spirulina, cuttlebone and main crabbage patch diet. If you have any suggestions I am really open to them. Another question is a 33 gallon is it big enough for 10 Ecuadorians(they are tiny to medium right now) but will I have to upgrade once they are at their maximum size, Hoe fast do they grow, will this take a while.
Thank you so much
Christine
AnswerIt sounds like right now you are doing everything right. Keep him isolated for another week or so, make sure he's got lots of shells and different kinds of foods. When it comes time for reintroducing him. Rearrange your tank as much as possible and give everyone you can find a quick dip in the fresh water pool. Don't use clean water use the water that they've been crawling around it.
Place lots of different kids of foods all over the tank and make sure that there are plenty of places to hide.
As for the E's. Actually 10 in a 30 isn't bad. They grow slowly and don't get nearly as big as PPs do. The biggest E I've ever seen was the size of a key lime. You should be fine for quite some time . . . unless of course you succumb to the temptation to buy more!
