Horseshoe Crabs...
- Thread starter mscoral21
- Start date
fishman77
Member
Do not get a horseshoe crab:
-The are not reef animals and generally need lower temperatures than we have
-They eat the 'good things' in a sand bed
-They are often overpowered by the currents in the tank and get sucked on to powerheads and such.
If kept in a species tank - with conditions that are specifically designed for the horseshoe, they can do well. But not in our typical tanks.
take it out
-The are not reef animals and generally need lower temperatures than we have
-They eat the 'good things' in a sand bed
-They are often overpowered by the currents in the tank and get sucked on to powerheads and such.
If kept in a species tank - with conditions that are specifically designed for the horseshoe, they can do well. But not in our typical tanks.
take it out
wwfstyle
Member
Ya they may look pretty cool and all but not worth it if you ask me. I have one, and about every other day I use to put a sponge over my PH so he doesn't get sucked into it. From what I have gathered from other people at this site was they eat ALL the benificial stuff in your sand bed. Yes I have one and he is about 3" in diameter. He's not big enough to knock anything over yet but if I find someone in our area that will take him they can have him. LFS wont take them because he has little cost to get him. I purchased mine like around $6. I have heard that they can get up to 18". Now if you only have a fish only tank I think that it would e alright to keep him but due to all the current in a reef you shouldn't have one. Don't worrie about feeding him because he is a scavanger.
ophiura
Active Member
Originally posted by fishman77
Do not get a horseshoe crab:
-The are not reef animals and generally need lower temperatures than we have
-They eat the 'good things' in a sand bed
-They are often overpowered by the currents in the tank and get sucked on to powerheads and such.
If kept in a species tank - with conditions that are specifically designed for the horseshoe, they can do well. But not in our typical tanks.
take it out
Fishman77, just an FYI...it is customary to note when you quote someone. This isn't a flame, BTW, just some board protocol
Whole manner of reasons not to keep them - but those are the biggies. It will not reach adulthood in our systems so don't worry about that
You can try feeding it things like the tentacles of squid and things. As adults they are voracious, but as babies it can be tough for them to feed on things other than critters in the sand...
scotts
Active Member
Originally posted by MsCoral21
You donated it to the Aquarium? The national Aquarium in Baltimore is the closest one around here. An hour and a half away. Do you really think they would take him? Who would I ask to talk to about it?
After many calls I finally talked to an assistant curator of something. When I showed to give him the fish they had to call him from out in the back. He showed up wearing a wetsuit. Turns out one of the curators jobs is to clean the tanks also. Someone has to. When we were walking through the aquarium I saw him in one of the reef tank cleaning it. He looked at me and waved. Kind of a surreal experience.
HTH
Scott
mscoral21
Member
Thank you guys soooooo much. You have helped out ALOT!!! The aquarium is going to take him. I have to take him down there Friday. They were very helpful and are glad to take him off my hands, Even though hes a $6 crab I dont want him to die and I dont want to kill him just because I didnt do any research on it before I took him. But thats okay its a learning experience and Im glad to know there is somewhere I can take my mistakes to. Hehe! Thanks again everyone who gave me their input! You guys were very very helpful.
ophiura
Active Member
You are to be commended for your dedication to this animal, $6 or not. Horseshoe crabs, believe it or not, save many human lives. Their blood is used to test for contamination in medicines and instruments, and they are also being tested for various other medical uses. To give one a better home is returning the favor
