Sand SiftingHorseshoe Crabs?

[fretfreak13]

I think they're the same thing, but that really doesn't matter. I know the burrow in the sand, hence their name, but I was wondering if they'd be any help with turning up Crushed Coral? I kinda doubt it, but I thought I'd ask.

 

[markw]

Horeshoe crabs get quite large. Once they are large, they are bulldozers and will knowck down alot of rocks if not anchored enough or correctly. They also eat alot and will often clean the sand completely and perish from lack of food. I dont think Ive ever heard any good news from owning a horeshoe crab besides they churn the sand while theyre alive. Maybe someone else will chime in.
Mark

 

[fretfreak13]

Ok thanks, I've never known anyone that had them, but I found some wild ones while digging for muscles in flordia. This was long before I ever thought about SW tanks, and I freaked out because I thought it was a bug. Thats kind of irrelevant, but it was a funny story. Anyone else have any info?

 

[roadie996]

I had a horsecrab for about 9 months. It kept itself buried in the sand constantly until one day it came out and died. It was in my very first tank, so it was probably my own fault to why it died. haven't had one since.

 

[small triggers]

also, horsecrabs are used to make a medicine (of course i cant remember which one) in the beaches of the oceans they are said to live over 40 years, in our tanks they rarely last 1 full year.
they do a great job of churning the sand and or crushed coral, depending on their starting size and how much sand you have they could last a while. One of the people that shops at my LFS had one in his 460g reef tank,,, its was only about 3 inches long total when he got it,, it died after a little more than a year his sand was very pristine white while the crab was in it, but it neve surfaced to die and he had a HUGE ammonia spike when he figured it out and pulled the corpse out of the sand realeasing everything.

 

[markw]

Kind of goes off topic, but what happened to the big tank? O.O
Mark