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For some reason I got my kids a purple moon crab. I've got him in 5 inches of water, with an island, and used a filter from another tank to start the cycle. It is a 20G tank, and he is only about 2" wide in the body (6" with legs when sitting). He is quite the monkey--can climb up a heater power cord. I've got the heater set at 72F with a guard, as he likes to climb on it. I have not found much info yet on this species. From talking to good LFS people, I've gleaned that I should:

- feed every 2nd day as much as he will eat--whatever that means. I'd rather know how much to feed actually.
- feed feeder guppies (not in any hurry to do this, if I even do), frozen krill, or fish food (I've given Hikari sinking carnivore pellets, Hikari sinking wafers (for cories), TetraMin tropical pellets)
- cooler water is ok (68F or like a goldfish I assume) at the store they said in a very warm room, no heater needed


He eats well. Yesterday I gave 3 little pellets. I also wonder, is canned tuna ok? Is frozen raw shrimp for people ok? How long do they live?

I think I'll look for some petstore driftwood with lots of branches. He seems to like perching in places, and I guess with a shell it is comforable the way he sits.

He seems to have broken the very very tip off of one of his legs. It has turned dark brown there. I guess Melafix is toxic to him? I wonder if it will heal, being a shell.

Oh yeah, does he need salt? Or is that only for babies and breeding? I'm not one to salt my freshwater fish.

Any advice is welcome, and also corrections.


Last edited by pizpot at 24-Aug-2005 22:28

Their scientific name is Cardisoma armatum.

[link=Here]http://freewebs.com/rainbowcrab/info.html" style="COLOR: #FFFFFF[/link] is a site with some good info on them.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

I thought endothermicity referred to the ability to create heat, i.e. warm bloodedness (as a general rule)?

I think that's exothermic...

I don't know... I just sort of skimmed through that website.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

hikari tropical do "crab cuisine" it has the higher calcium content youll need. tell your stockist to get some in.Ive used it with small crabs and shrimp, almost all of which grew and sloughed within a week of eating it, which possibly meant they were a bit short on calcium before. btw

endothermic is internal heat production , ectothermic is relying on external heat sources- reptile keeper ya know

Last edited by longhairedgit at 25-Aug-2005 10:44

Last edited by longhairedgit at 25-Aug-2005 10:47

endotherms/warm-blooded animals generate their own heat (endo meaning internal)

exotherms/poikilotherms/cold-blooded animals rely on external sources.(exo meaning external)

I'd say crabs would be exothermic, hence the importance of keeping the enclosure within a specific temperature range.


For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Thanks a shed-load guys. Crabby Patty thanks you too.

We've had it for 4 days now and are getting used to it, and it to us. Today we dropped in food, and "he" was not shy anymore. Rambled over and wolfed them down whole.

Oh good, they molt. I guess we could feed ghost shrimp too. That may be sticky, since we used to keep them as pets with cardinal tetras. It may be too graphic too.



Last edited by pizpot at 25-Aug-2005 14:42