I don't know about this!

[purplepuffer]

I went to the fish store to buy a clearner shrimp, but instead I ended up getting a horseshoe crab. They employee told all kinds of things about it, but when I got on this web site, the inverts section didn't have anything about it, and said to watch out for anything that wasn't on the list. Should I have not gotten it, does anyone have one? I just wanted something to clean the bottom algea and waste out of the tank. Thanks for any help!!
~~Megan

 

[beth]

Horseshoe crabs are generally good scanvengers, however, this creature can be a bit troublesome for the hobbyist. They can knock over things in the tank, for instance [clumsy little devils]

They also can contribute a lot of waste to your system[kinda like marine version to our terrestial pig! LOL] They can be troublesome to live rock and they need deep sand or substrate, cause they burrow. They also tend to hybernate, which makes finding them or doing the routine "head" count to see if your livestock are still alive, sometimes troublesome. They GROW and need wide open space [not intricate aquascaping] as they can get stuck here and there. You may need to help feed it by putting food in its path to avoid it from starving. Because of the shell, it is kinda hard to see if it is thriving or not.

 

[krazzydart]

I don't like them...... its personal pref as to what you want....... and if you go to buy a shrimp ....BUY IT AND DO NOT let them talk you into buying anything else...!!!!!

 

[otto13]

i have owned three horseshoe crabs. they are really cute and add life to your tank when they swim around. but this doesnt happen very often. they tend to hide under the gravel most of the time. i would go three weeks without seeing one, then suddenly there they are again. someone that hides so often really isnt going to be that great of a cleaner. they are really dumb too. constantly getting stuck, swimming into anemones, knocking stuff over. if you have open space in your tank, they are great to watch but not very functional.
otto

 

[mainejo1]

Megan, there are no inverts that I have found that are more amusing and useful than cleaner shrimp. I have a solid red one with white spots and a regular cleaner in my 30 gal and 90 gal. They don't really do anything major for algae, but do a fine job of cleaning my fish. They all eat out of my hand, especially when I offer them scallops. They are not much of a biological load on your tank, so I would go get one or two, and sit back and enjoy. The fish instantly go to them for a cleaning.

 

[purplepuffer]

Thank you very much for all the input into my post. When I went to get a cleaner shrimp, I ended up getting that crab, and I thought it was really cool at first, but when it went into hiding, I was like, okay this isn't what I want. I ended up taking it back to the store just a few days ago, but I didn't know for sure about what to get in exchange, I think I will get the cleaner shrimp. Thanks again for all the ideas!