Horseshoe crab?

[kilmca]

Wondering if you anyone knows anything about horseshoe crabs or have had any experience with them? I have a melanurus wrasse plus a sandsifting starfish that burrow in the sand and I don't want to disturb or cause any problems for them.

 

I've read horseshoe crabs can be destructive and will starve to death when they deplete the sandbed of food, I feed my fish a lot so would this help with keeping the crab alive?

 

thanks

[Smann]

Wondering if you anyone knows anything about horseshoe crabs or have had any experience with them? I have a melanurus wrasse plus a sandsifting starfish that burrow in the sand and I don't want to disturb or cause any problems for them.

 

I've read horseshoe crabs can be destructive and will starve to death when they deplete the sandbed of food, I feed my fish a lot so would this help with keeping the crab alive?

 

thanks

 

I bought one a few weeks ago I would say it was medium size about 1.5" I paid 16.00. It scurried all around the tank the evening I put it in, I never saw it again. I tried to find its shell but it could be behind rock or ? I guess it could be living back in the sand in the rock. Anyway thats my experience with them, maybe someone else has had better luck

[Rick]

It's probably just down in the sand. They burrow under and stay there for several days at a time. There are a couple of different species. One stays fairly small while the other will grow quite large (dinner plate size). The latter is the one to worry about as it will eventually starve and obviously could make a big mess. The 2 I have had were the small ones (Or so I believe anyway). The first one got caught up against the drain behind my rock and by the time I found it it had expired. The second one is a little bigger and can get away from the drain although I keep it uncovered now anyway so I can make sure. When I first got it it dissappeared for 2 weeks. I didn't see it until I moved some stuff around and found where it was buried. Since then I see it once every few days at night. It's no worse (or probably less so) than a sand shifting star. When you do see them it is a blast to watch as they have a very unique way of swimming. They basically float in the current and then use their tail to direct them. They supplement the current by paddling their legs at a really fast rate. Considering that they have to paddle so much for so little movement it is amazing that they can even get around. Just keep an eye on drains and power head inlets as they can get up against them backwards and get stuck that way. (My first one would get stuck on the power head quite often and I would have to pull it off however the second one has never been stuck against either PH or drains)

[Benny503]

I bought one about quarter size from seahorse couple weeks ago. After I aclimated I put it in my tank but my vortech MP20 having too much wave so it kept the horseshoe crab floating on the water all nite. It's legs kept on paddling and flowing up side down like stingray. I was feeling so bad so I turned to powerhead off and let it settle to the sand. But I can't keep my powerhead off so long then I turn it back on so I can go bed with a bad feeling about it.

 

Early in the morning I check on it so I can't find it no where. I was feeling really bad (thougth it died), but I see no shell or body. I kept searching the whole tank around for days and can't find it. Last week I was staring at my zoas and I see the big piece of sand moving like california earthquake. Then it came up, floating around for long time again until it grab into one of my rock and slowly dig itself under the sand.

 

Couple days ago I saw him got grabbed by the RBTA, I rescue him by hand feed the RBTA a piece of shrimp. I grab it and move it out. Couple hours later I saw it inside the RBTA again this time I stand there to see what will happen to it and I saw it legs kept on paddling paddling and it got loose and it dig itself into the sand again. I haven' see it since. But I notice every nite when I feed the fish it seem to come out.

[CA2OR]

I have one and besides moving frags...all around in my sand. He has been great. He disappears for a while, sometimes days, then one day you see a lump....like the movie Tremors...moving in your sand. I have found him a couple times, upside down stuck in my filter. I thought he was dead, then I pulled him back from the grate and he immediately started kicking, put him down into the sand and he was gone. I too have a melanarus wrasse, Calvin, and a sand sifter, and 2 cucombers....haven't had an issue yet. But what I do have an issue with is I only have a 36g tank.....just not enough food for all of them. At least I don't think so. But he knows what he is doing, you have a huge sand bed for him to feed on.

[USCG CWO]

I was thinking of getting either the sand sifting star or the horseshoe crab, but have been holding off. I have quite a few Nassarius Snails in my sand bed. Will the star or crab eat my snails while they hide in the sand?

[Rick]

The Horseshoe Crab will not. As long as it has food then then most sand shifting stars will not either. Watch out for the spiny ones though. They prefer snails to anything else. (I had one for a week or so and it was doing a job on my CUC)

[Lowman]

Shane, I would stay away from both of those animals. They will deplete your sandbed of some beneficial things. Stick with the nassarius snails

[stylaster]

also horsecrabs tend to get big, about 2' in length i dont think anyone has kept one to grow to adulthood most seem to die pretty fast in enclosed system

[pledosophy]

I kept one for quite some time in 02'. I got it the size of a quarter, it grew to be maybe 5 inches or so across in less then a year, I turned it back to the LFS.

 

This is the first I have ever heard of a small species of the animal. You sure on that?

 

IME they can flip over a 15 lbs rock, so make sure your stuff is heavy and all of your corals attached or glued down well.

 

They are very very fun to watch. When they get acclimated to the tank they will be out and about more often.

 

I have had one disappear for a few weeks at a time. I took out the molt thinking the crab was dead (I was a newb and never heard of a molt before, kinda made an idiot about myself over the whole thing), I was quite surprised to see it pop up later.

 

They are fun animals, but do to there growth, adult size, and talent of knocking things over, I doubt I'll ever try again.

 

JME

[Rick]

This is the first I have ever heard of a small species of the animal. You sure on that?

I was told this by two different LFS and found some information on it by searching although I don't recall offhand where it was (WWM maybe). The first one I had for about 3 months and there was no noticeable growth. The second one I got from Garrett and he said it only grew a little and he had it for quite awhile before I got it from him. I haven't had it long enough (3 weeks or so) to see any growth yet myself. Unless it grows substantially though I don't see it being an issue.