Horseshoe Crabs eating Clams??
- Thread starter rook
- Start date
yosemite sam
Active Member
As far as I know, horseshoe crabs are sand sifters. I don't think they will even notice the clams. Not sure about the other crabs mixing...
clamps
Member
i have a horseshoe and clams the only thing i dont like about him is he keeps knocking over my baby clams when he goes into dig mode,so about once a day i have to set 1 back upright,but he cant move my big crocea clam so i would say yes with big clams no with small ,he will be coming out b4 long torough on my little 1`s (he even can knock them over when i set them inside a old shell half with sand)
rook
Member
"The Horseshoe Crab is brown to light tan. The dorsal part of the body is rounded, and it has a long spike for a tail. The Horseshoe Crab is really not a crab, but more closely related to spiders and mites, belonging to a group of animals called chelicerates. Horseshoe Crabs can grow quite large, the females usually larger than the males. Their size precludes them from being added to all but the largest tanks.
The Horseshoe Crabs dig through sand and gravel in search of worms and any organic debris. It will move the substrate around almost nonstop in its search for food. They are reef safe, but can be harmful to fish and invertebrates, especially worms and clams.
Although it may find some food scavenging, its diet should be supplemented with meaty items such as pieces of squid and shrimp."
Drs Foster and Smith.com
This is why I asked. I read this and wasn't sure how accurate it was, or if they are being overly causious.
The Horseshoe Crabs dig through sand and gravel in search of worms and any organic debris. It will move the substrate around almost nonstop in its search for food. They are reef safe, but can be harmful to fish and invertebrates, especially worms and clams.
Although it may find some food scavenging, its diet should be supplemented with meaty items such as pieces of squid and shrimp."
Drs Foster and Smith.com
This is why I asked. I read this and wasn't sure how accurate it was, or if they are being overly causious.
ophiura
Active Member
My question is "why risk it." Horseshoe crabs can not be kept long term in our tanks, would grow very large (if they lived that long) and generally become bulldozers (especially in small tanks with a lot of LR). There is only so much sand in there for them to look through. I don't recommend them to people wanting to keep a functional DSB as part of their filtration, and really don't like to see them in small tanks.