Anyone have a horseshoe crab? BIG???

[hefner413]

I just got a small horseshoe crab from SWF.com. It is so cool. It stirs up the sand so well and just tumbles all over the place. SWF.com claims it won't get very big. By my LFS says they will get up to 2 feet long. Are the SWF.com one's really a small species? Has anybody had one for a while??? did it stay small????

 

[skeletoncowboy]

i have never had one but i want one eventually. i hear they do get up to 2 ft. though with time. how long that it takes to get that big i have no clue. try google or wikipedia to find info

 

[hefner413]

according to SWF:
When most people think of Horseshoe Crabs they think of these huge crabs they they've seen on TV or in the Zoo. On the contrary, the Horseshoe Crabs Saltwaterfish.com offers are only an inch or two in size.

 

[hefner413]

Yeah, the one I got is only a couple inches, but will it end up being that huge crab seen on TV or in the zoo?

 

[renogaw]

yes, a babysized horseshoe crab wll become an adultsized horseshoe crab. they also sell blue hippos that are 1" in size, but will grow to an adult.
another problem is they do go up on the shore every year to lay eggs..you can see them on the beach at the right time of the year, there are hundreds of sand digging crabs. and trust me, they are huge, like 2' shell with a very long tail. (they visit the beaches near me)

 

[blackjacktang]

Some will get thet big but that is the northern typ. The one saltwaterfish.com offers are the souther typ. The souther typ only gets to 4 inches.

 

[renogaw]

well northern or southern, it is a moot point. only thing i can suggest hefner is realy look into things before buying them. you, your tank inhabitants, and your wallet will all be happy

 

[ophiura]

It is not cool that they "tumble around." Most of these are not suitable for tanks at all. Most will die before growing, and "tumbling around" is an indication that the current is too strong for them. Not a pleasant thing to see

 

[ophiura]

There are 4 species of horseshoe crabs in the world, all of which get to be at least a foot long on average.
Unfortunately, most kept in our tanks will never even come close to that, dying long before ever having such a chance.
There is not a "northern" and "southern" species noted that I have found.
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/education.../worldmap.html

 

[groupergenius]

Originally Posted by Blackjacktang
Some will get thet big but that is the northern typ. The one saltwaterfish.com offers are the souther typ. The souther typ only gets to 4 inches.
Trust me, they get big down here. I have never seen one that is 2' across on the shell. Maybe 1'.

 

[ice4ice]

Oh yeah - they do get big. I went to the Mystic Aquarium just recently and they had some about 18 - 20 inches long head to tail.

 

[mopardwh]

I had one for roughly six months. It would burrow down for about a week or two, and every once in a while come up and swim around doing flips uncontrollably like you said. (I thought it was funny too). But it finally died. It didn't get any bigger and it was impossible to feed.

 

[alex4286]

i just got mine, hes soo tiney mayube 2 1/2 inches long from head to tail. my LFS said in the wild they get HUGE but in captive tanks they dont get much larger then about 6inches. If hes wrong, ill just return him if i dont have a bigger tank by then. But he was only $10 and if worse comes to worse ill just give him to a good home. But def. worth having right now

 

[ophiura]

It is a problem when animals in captivity can not grow to the size you would find them in the wild. That is a sign, IMO, of animals not to keep. Most horseshoe crabs in HOME tropical tanks will have no long term chance.
However if kept in a system designed specifically to keep them, they are not particularly difficult to sustain.

 

[sprang]

Why oh why are species like this still being sold? Let's leave the rays, sharks, octopus in the sea also. Unfortunatly there a very very few honest dealers out there anymore. It's not only unfair for the buyer, but the animal itself.

On a lighter note somewhat unrelated, a family at my church were forced to a decision to sell their black bear cub as it was getting to aggressive with the children!

 

[hefner413]

Originally Posted by sprang
Why oh why are species like this still being sold? Let's leave the rays, sharks, octopus in the sea also. Unfortunatly there a very very few honest dealers out there anymore. It's not only unfair for the buyer, but the animal itself.

I agree. It seems that they make it a point to say that you need minimum tank sizes for the fish, such as the hippo tang. But they don't say anything about the horseshoes. And reading the description does make is sound like it's different than those that get big. They should be honest about it. But if they said this crab is meant to get up to 2 ft long, then they wouldn't sell very many....