FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Been a while since I've been back at FP for advice. Finally got my tank set up and decided to go low maintenence with a 30g tall, one crab, an oscar, and some small feeders.

Question is this: Crab will molt soon and I dont want the Oscar to kill him or pick on him while he hardens back up. Going to create him his own plastic box at the bottom of the tank, but how long should he stay in it for safty?

Been having trouble finding much info about this species of crab.

Hi,

Crabs are never a good option with any fish IMO. The fish have to sleep some time and when they do, the crab will take chunks out of them. Also, once the oscar gets big enough, he will try and eat the crab.

On another note, you will need to upgrade your tank if you want to keep the oscar. Oscars are large, messy fish are require a tank of at least 75 gallons each.

Good luck.

Oscar has a home waiting for him in the 200 gallon downstairs -- so no worries about long-term housing ATM. Crab is not at all aggressive yet, but I'm hoping he'll get with the program soon. Still no info on his molting times to harden properly. Was thinking 3-4 weeks to be sure he's good to go.

Mmmmmm......Crab...............

Just kidding!

Well, how large is the crab/oscar? It all depends on size, as the oscar gets big, it has the ability to destroy the crab. You should get a large piece of tall DW so the crab can hide in.

><> ~=!Vote Today!=~ <><
-----> View My Dragons <-----

I can tell when my moon crab is hard because he stops hiding and gets bold. It takes about a week or less. I went and got a bag of t-rex calci-sand for hermit crabs. It is substrate.. I put in a few tablespoons now and then. He pigs out on it, and has grown much more than before he had it. Plus, his small details, whiskers etc, seem more ounced. (also eats sunflower seeds, almonds, pecans, walnuts, lettuce, freeze dried krill, hikari sinking carnivore pellets, fish flakes, guppy flakes, HBH crab & lobster bites and most of all Hikari Crab Cuisine--just show it to him and crinkle the bag and he starts his feeding dance) He loves Crab Cuisine daily whereas his taste for the other things comes and goes. If you feed him in one spot, then you will know when he is hungry because he goes there. Otherwise, pick out uneaten food, but watch out, he knew it was there and may have been saving it. *pinchy pinchy* I got him 3 feeder guppies and he never went for them. I heard they might be too small to bother with. 3 days ago, I gave a bag with 50 for my wife to take to the school tank. Get him a ball of java moss, he will wear it like a spy in a bush, groom it, sit on it, move it around. I do weakly 75% changes and use 1 table spoon aqua salt per 5 gallons.

Oscars are huge holy crow say no more. At night when he sheds, the oscar might get a taste for him from eating some slime he leaves behind. Then again, maybe I don't know what oscars are like as I never had one. My guess is that an oscar could get a leg off, but not break it open, and then when the crab fought back it would scare the carp out of the fish. Try to pick him up to see what I mean--goes nuts. Not that the crab wouldn't regen a leg. Mine did when one got stuck during a molt due to a broken tip that healed--came that way from the store. Otherwise, 4 molts no missing limbs. PS I don't care to know who would win, eh.

Moon crabs need an island and preferably a warm beach to dig in, they are african land crabs I hear. They need to submerge often though to keep their lungs wet.