Exotic species care

[wodesorel]

They had started taking out her straws, so if they are trouble makers, they'll go after anything else in the tank. But that's the thing, only about half the people who keep them run into issues, but it means that there will be deaths before you find which way they lean.

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[LadyJinglyJones]

Had there been any effort to log which setups had issues with E cannibalism and which didn't? Just wondering if a certain size tat/diet/population size/what evs might be more conducive to success (that we know of)...?

[Dragonfire1577]

Had there been any effort to log which setups had issues with E cannibalism and which didn't? Just wondering if a certain size tat/diet/population size/what evs might be more conducive to success (that we know of)...?

Maybe gender matters regarding cannibalism, I've always wondered how gender impacts crab social dynamic just because the females i've worked with seem better behaved than the males in the group but I'm limited to 5 crabs over the years for experience and only own 2 atm.

[wodesorel]

LJJ, it wasn't 100%, but it seemed to be limited mostly to large mature males. Tank size, conditions and diet had no effect.

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[aussieJJDude]

Guess I can chime in; since I know that I do keep probably one of the more 'rarer exotic' species....

What about Australians?

This had me laughing, as I don't know anyone that keeps an Australian as a pet... Too loud, and normally heavily intoxicated. Not in interesting pet, plus Australians don't speak american so be prepared for the first couple of months of language barrier! In saying all that, they can make decent pets if you have the time and commitment!

I know we typically don't have access to them in the US but they are one of the few species to have been need in captivity and the babies grew to quite a good size after going onto land in the report I read. If they were missing something vital why would they grow from the size of a grain of rice to quarter size successfully. So I wonder if they would they also fall into the category of crabs that only make it a few years and die with all the non PP species or are they more along the lines of PPs for hardiness?

Two things come into mind:
1. Aussies have a severely abbreviated 'baby' or zoea stage before that become beautiful butterflies and transition to land hermit crabs. Aussies only have around 2 zoea stages in total, and during which they either unable or don't need to eat, which makes it easier for the keeper to stay on top of pristine water quality since there is little waste. The problem with aussies come from when they turn into megalopa; this is when they do eat and this is when they seem to cannibalise each other; since they may prefer live or at least suspended foods - having never raised megalopa, I'm only guessing!
Now compare this to the PP (but pretty much every other known species to breed in captivity) for example, where I believe they go through multiple zoea stages and I believe multiple megalopa stages as well before they become 'land hermit crabs'. During this time, they need a 'constant access' to live foods, which does have an effect on water quality not to mention sustaining cultures of small microscopic live foods to keep up with the demand.
2. Luck, Nat just had a female of size and a male of size and they connected, love at first sight and all. Not trying to say that Nat didn't run rings trying to get them to land, we all know that she did, but like Wod says its more having a mature pair they will eventually give out eggs, whether its successful or not

In saying that, the amount of effort that many German crabbers have to building their tank is unbelievable; where they commonly use live plants, deep marine water bowls, careful substrate choice - they either do a 50/50 split of sand (and they tend to choose small gravel, most commonly aragonite), EE (they do tend to mix in leave litter and other goodies) and I believe tend to use a clean up crew; such as tropical springtails and isopods. Their vivariums tend to be more for visual rather than practical IMO, but in a way this has a far greater benefit since it provides that crabs enrichment. For example, many European crabbers have a substrate depth of around 10-15cm (4-6inch, but many encourage more tbh!); but what they pack in those layers may be the key! They have the usual layer, but they futher break it up, mixing in pieces of moss (sphagnum), bark, peat, leaves. But its what they provide on the surface; keeps the crabs in a healthier mental state (without trying to humanise crabs).
I personally love what many European crabbers consider as the basic tank; and in the future hope to try out their style and see where it takes me!

for example, one of my favourite tanks would have to be Naalide's: http://naali.de/einsiedler/?page_id=328 (love to reference this as much as possible)
~~~
As I have only kept Aussies and never really been in contact with the other species, I have really no basis to compare them with. In saying that, reading from you guys say I'd probably group them somewhere between the ease of keeping of PP's and E's; somewhat closer to the E's. Probably the best person to ask would be sugar; since she has aussies, Indos, Straws, E's and PP's (so she legit have like half of the known species, and could easy give an indication on where they stand).

[123AE]

C.brevimanus has been good for me


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How long have you had them? They seem to be adapted quite similarly to C. clypeatus but even more terrestrial in terms of going inland so another non PP species I'd like to look into captive lifespan.

About four years now, for some reason I've had more luck with the "bulkier" species. However I've never had clypeatus die yet I have had indos die


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[123AE]

I think the term "exotic" is based on perception. If it doesn't originate in your home country it's labeled foreign. Since they are desirable, a nicer, more flattering term is used (thus we have an "exotic" breed")

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A lot t of its due supply and demand purpureus used to be dirt cheap here in the uk but now on the incredibly rare import we do sometimes get, they've more than quadrupled in price. Things are hard to come by so many want to be part of the few that have them. Sadly, many don't have the high care levels required to keep a more delicate animal long term. I think it could be to do with humidity and heat


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