£4.50
The Red-clawed Crab is a small, colourful, semi-aquatic brackish species that is known from estuarine and mangrove habitats across Asia. This species is fascinating to keep and observe, but they do require an environment carefully designed around their needs.
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These crabs are not fully aquatic, and absolutely MUST have an area where they can climb free of the water. The land area should be sandy with plenty of roots and rocky caves (which make excellent hiding places when the crabs are moulting), and the water area should be heated and filtered as normal. A tight fitting lid is essential and be sure to block all holes where equipment feeds into the tank, as these crabs are great escape artists. Regular partial water changes should be carried out on the water area as you would do in an aquarium, in order to keep nitrate at a minimum. Best kept in a species-tank environment, although some aquarists have success keeping them alongside small, fast-swimming, peaceful brackish-water fish. Bear in mind, though, that Red-clawed Crabs will hunt small fish, so avoid any slow bottom-dwellers. Keep only one male with several females unless the tank is particularly spacious as males are very territorial.
