# new micro crabs



## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

I dropped into PJs SQ 1 today, and could not resist the micro crabs.. so now I have six of the little tiny guys. Currently allowing them to acclimate, and I'm going to put them into the shrimplet tank for now. They won't eat the shrimplets, in fact, from the look of them, I think they must be filter feeders. Their legs are covered with bristles, which is a common feature on filter feeding critters...so since I'm feeding the shrimplets stuff for filter feeders, the crabs, I hope, will be ok in there. I don't want to put them in the big tank just yet, because they are so small, I'm afraid I'll never see them again.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

I've started a small Fluval power filter I got used, in the shrimplet tank, as I have read the micro crabs are from a river environment, so I thought they might appreciate the current. I was also curious to see what the shrimplets would make of it. So far they seem to like it.. and I was able to briefly observe one of the crabs crawling on the long roots of a frogbit, and apparently picking food off the root hairs.. must have been microscopic food items, but definitely using it's tiny pincer claws to grab at the root hairs and then put the claw to it's mouth area. So now I am not sure, are they filter feeders or do they feed more like dwarf shrimp, only perhaps needing a more varied diet. I'm going to feed some banana or micro worms and see if that gets any reaction from them. So far I've only seen the one, for a minute or two, the others are hiding. Since the substrate is black moon sand and there's a big piece of driftwood in there, the crabs just blend right in. They're a dark brown colour, mostly, and vanish quite effectively.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Well, one of my crabs has died.. I found it last night. Very pale in colour, just lying in the front of the tank. I have only seen one of these guys doing anything that looked like feeding.. it was picking at something in the roots of a frogbit. I've fed algae tabs, crustacean sinking pellets, spirulina powder, invert phytoplankton liquid. They hide under the driftwood and don't come out much, so it's difficult to see what they're up to, though the one I did see appeared to be feeding in the same way that shrimp do, picking up tiny bits of whatever. I'm going to try some blanched spinach and maybe some softened seaweed sheet, but I sure hope this is not just the first of a death cycle for these little guys. They are charming, when you can see them, and I wish I could observe them better. But since they like to hide, I fear taking their hidey spots away would only stress them worse than they already are.


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## laurahmm (Apr 1, 2010)

I have these little guys as well... very very cute... I just gave up trying to see what they eat... and since I have baby shrimplets, I just give them baby shrimp food as well hoping that they will eat that... I've had them for around 4 months... I bought 6... I havent seen any dead ones but who knows...occasionally they do come out but I have never ever seen them eat anything I throw in... not flake food, not algae tablets etc. I did see one eat the molted shell of a shrimp so apparently they can use their pincers to grab food but I have yet to see them eat... apparently they are very shy and they are suppose to be able to eat flake food. I read this somewhere on The planted tank forum. You need to throw the food in after lights are out because they are extremely shy.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

I had no luck with these guys, I do hope you do well with them


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Laurahmm, any chance you recall where on the planted tank you read about them ? I was looking on there but a search turned up nothing, but I may not have used the right name for them. There sure isn't much information around on them. I found some dark blue tinted compact spiral bulbs, so I'm going to put one in the fixture over the tank and see if that will allow me to see any activity after dark. Maybe I'll be able to see if they come out to eat or anything. 

Far as I know, there are only my Ghost shrimplets and the crabs in this tank, plus a couple of nerites and a mystery snail. What little food I put in there disappears, but that is likely the snail's work. I wish the folks who catch these wee beasts and sell them would provide a bit of info on how to feed them properly. They are very tiny, so clearly they don't eat much, but they must eat something! If Laurahmm has had them four months, they must be eating something, even if she never sees it, I doubt anything that tiny could live for four months without eating anything at all.


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## laurahmm (Apr 1, 2010)

Heres a link to a guy teying to breed these. If anyone can breed these here, it would probably be you .

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/shrimp-other-invertebrates/163824-attempting-breed-microcrabs.html

And here is a pm that I sent him:

Re: thai micro crabs...
They are filter feeders of a sort, but not in the sense that bamboo/wood shrimp are. They'll spend much of the day hanging from the underside of whatever is available with their arms spread out. When a large object (large to them anyway) hits, they grab it and start eating. If it's something alive, like a shrimp, they can't hold on and don't even appear to try to, but if it's a piece of food they snuggle it close with their legs and claws and chow down.

I don't think they use their claws for much beyond filtering and mating. The males will grab a pair of the females' legs and hold on while they mate. I've not seen any injuries from it, and their claws seem so weak that I can't honestly see how there really could be any. I've only managed to get pinched once from a microcrab, and I've handled them dozens of times without attempting to be cautious at all. It wasn't much of a pinch; ant bites are much stronger.

Quote:
Originally Posted by laurahmm
Thanks so much Jason... I was afraid that they may be filter feeders and have been throwing in baby CRS powder food. Their two front claws seem very clumsy and ackward and too big to pick up any food at all... not compared to my shrimp... so I assumed they couldnt pick up flake food so was stopping that... I hope I havent been starving them I will throw in flake food etc again once lights are out again. Thanks so much.

Laura

Quote:
Originally Posted by jasonpatterson
Quote:
Originally Posted by laurahmm
HI Jason,

I was reading your post on your thai micro crabs. Recently canadians were able to get a hold on these cute critters. I bought 8 but for the life of me, I have no clue what they eat. I have yet to see them eating anything at all even though I put flake food, pellets, shrimp food in front of them. Can you give me any advice as to what yours eat? Do you actually see them eat? Thanks!

Laura
They're very shy, especially at first, but yes, I have seen them eat. They'll eat any of the things you listed, and probably do, once the lights go out at night. You could try feeding just before lights out if your other tank inhabitants tend to clean everything up quickly.

Mine also really enjoy frozen (well, thawed out) bloodworms or mysis shrimp. I thaw a cube of them and drop it in the tank. That is way too much for my tank inhabitants to eat in one sitting, but I just leave the leftovers in until they're gone. That's into a 20L with approximately 40 crabs and 50-60 shrimp though, so if you have a smaller tank and fewer inhabitants a smaller portion would likely be wise.

They will also crawl around and root through the top layer of the substrate for whatever unmentionable horrors they happen to come across and eat that as well.

Once your crabs have gotten used to the tank they will come out a bit more and you'll see them doing their crabby little daily activities not infrequently. Best of luck!
Jason


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Thanks so much Laurahmm, both for the compliment and the info. That's a long thread, but it has some great information and at least ONE guy has one baby crab.. only one, but it proves it's possible to breed them in tanks. 

I have frozen brine shrimp, so I will slice off a fragment of one of the little blocks and try feeding that. It seems they don't eat living animals, so the worms I've been feeding the baby shrimp are probably not being eaten by the crabs, so I'll reduce the amounts I've been feeding. But I might try freezing some worms and see if they'll take them that way ? Shouldn't be all that different from from frozen mysis or bloodworms, I hope.


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