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Hi yall, I just had a quick question about my fiddler crab...are they more or less destructive of their environments? I have a crab in a 20H that I've always had some issues with water color distortion, but I come home after a weekend and the tank is not only darker but the wee little crab was able to rip lots of tiny bark bits off my driftwood and scatter themn around. Is there any way I can either a) stop her from destroying my driftwood or b) do something to the driftwood to make it hard to rip anythign off? I always have the option of putting her in my 15L tank with my barbs but I wanted to see if there was anythign I could do about this prob first. Thanks for your help!

I have never known your standard Uca sp. of fiddler to do this but Sesarma bidens will, perhaps that is what you have. They will sit for hours picking away and mouthing pieces of wood, I don't believe they eat it but are more interested in the stuff that tends to collect on it. At any rate, this destruction can be reduce by simply giving them something else to pick at. Try fiberous things like celery stalks, broccoli stalks, green beans etc. I have also found that vacation feeders are a favorite as well since they enjoy digging into it.

hope that helps.

I did a quick search and I definitly know my crab isn't a Sesarma bidens, though she did decide to play with my driftwood like one. She is definitly a femal fiddler.

I guess the only idea I have for her behavior was that she was hungry? I've got hungry fish in this tank plus a loach, so I wouldn't doubt it if she were having trouble finding things to eat. If this is the case, should I move her to my other tank where there is less competition?

And btw, do fiddlers enjoy eating celery/green beans/etc too? I have never heard of anything like that before.

Hmm.. do you have a picture? If it is a Uca sp. fiddler then it should prefer softer foods: blanched squash, shelled peas, grated carrots. Hermit crab pellets, and algae wafers help provide some protein. I tried unsweetened apple sauce and various other fruits once or twice but they were not interested.

I don't have a picture at the moment of her...I'll see if I can scrounge one up. (I've since moved her to the smaller tank and she's remained hidden the entire time...everytime a crab does that to me she ends up not living too much longer...><;

She had access to pellets and wafers in the old tank,and whatever she could locate on the rocks. I decided to move her only b/c the fish in the other tank leave those foods alone. But maybe she isn't getting the food she needs in the first place? What is it exactly that they do eat? If I can figure out either why she picked at the driftwood or am able to supply her with better food, I'll move her back. (Which is what I want to do. I just don't want to come home to another mess...)

BTW, thanks for your advice thus far stuff_gnome.

Fiddlers usually aren't picky about food, they feed off algae and detritus in the their native habit(yours is a Florida species most likely). Could it be possible it was just picking at the wood to get at any algae growth?
Fiddlers really only need three things to be happy most of the time: one square foot of space, access to air(via something to climb on) and miscellaneous bits of food. Of course sandy substrate, brackish water and shady places to hide are always appreciated .