# Vampire Crab home..



## warlock (Jun 7, 2012)

hi there.. i am totally new here.. i raise DISCUS fish and freshwater shrimp  but then i stumbled on these little guys and ended up here 

i have been looking for information.. but still have a few question.. 

i have 20g longs that are empty to use for this..

so this is what i have so far.. 

going to pot head store from hydroton base.. 20 lbs for $12.. 

picked up some coco fiber bricks (3 for $6.99 petco.. big sale)

2 bags of long fiber sphagnum moss, home depot.. 
************

do i put about 2" of the hydroton, use a fiberglass window screen mesh.. then add coco fiber substrate with sphagum moss layer over that..

i was planning on filling with at least 1" of RO water.. to the hytroton.. 

i have glass top and 6500k florescent lights.. (looking at LED beamswork)

i hope this is the correct place to post this.. 

thanks..

ps.. i am not a fan of frogs.. i kind of have a slight phobia.. BUT i am pushing thru that to be here for information.. LOL! 
hope this is the way to go


----------



## FRISCHFROGS (Jan 15, 2012)

You have a fear of frogs but you like Vampire crabs? Strange!
They Do need filtered Water!
Try 'Google' or the person you are buying them from for info.


----------



## warlock (Jun 7, 2012)

well, i don't like the stupid frogs i see around texas!! ugly..

now the dart frogs are starting go grow on me.. 

i been looking for the last few days.. LOL

i was going with a HYDROTON bottom. 

but a more experienced person told me it was bad idea and should make a false bottom.. so now i am trying to find why?!

i already bought hydroton.. and am looking at this moment about falsebottom builds..


----------



## hypostatic (Apr 25, 2011)

Check out this thread, there's a bunch of links to other websites about them:
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/lounge/71330-vampire-crabs-me-needz-more-info.html

And this is a more recent one:
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/members-frogs-vivariums/67699-geosesarma-sp-red-devil.html

As far as building a vivarium goes, I've read that they can be kept pretty much in the same type of vivs as darts, so just do some research on the boards and the internets about how people build their vivs.

OH, and before you get any animal, make sure their new home has been set up some time before you acquire them so that you have time to work out any kinks in their new habitat


----------



## warlock (Jun 7, 2012)

hypo.. thanks


----------



## warlock (Jun 7, 2012)

sooo..

more research has been done..

i see there is a need for Microfauna.. 

springtails and isopods!?

would this help to establish the environment?


----------



## DracheFrau (May 23, 2012)

> springtails and isopods!?
> 
> would this help to establish the environment?


Yup. There are a lot of sites you can buy them from and lots of info on how to culture them. How to culture Ispods / Woodlice and Springtails This is a great thread on how to do so and it helped me make my first cultures.


----------



## d.crockett (May 27, 2009)

warlock said:


> sooo..
> 
> more research has been done..
> 
> ...


For what it's worth my Red Devil tank is covered in springs, to the point that it is a little irritating. I have never seen the adult crabs touch them either. The hatchlings might, but i have yet to see that either (although they wrestle fruit flies that are as big as they are.... go figure) The tank is squeaky clean though!


----------



## warlock (Jun 7, 2012)

crockett.. thats what i was worried about.. 

if the micro fuana would over take the tank..


----------



## d.crockett (May 27, 2009)

warlock said:


> crockett.. thats what i was worried about..
> 
> if the micro fuana would over take the tank..


The population of micro fauna will boom and bust on its own eventually. To be honest it may be hard not to have springs in there at some point. All my tanks end up with them sooner or later. Ultimately, I don't think they will bother the crabs though.


----------



## hypostatic (Apr 25, 2011)

warlock said:


> crockett.. thats what i was worried about..
> 
> if the micro fuana would over take the tank..


The microfauna are your "tank janitors". They clean up poop, mold, and waste in the viv. They are definitely something that you want in your tanks.


----------



## warlock (Jun 7, 2012)

Zach from Josh Frogs..

suggested..

1 part coco fiber to 1 part exo terra river sand.. maybe more alittle more fiber.. 

4" deep..

with 2" of water.. 

going to do that.. 

BUT.. now i need to find some stock..


----------



## hypostatic (Apr 25, 2011)

warlock said:


> BUT.. now i need to find some stock..


Are you asking where to buy the substrate for your tank? Josh's Frogs sells substrate (and mixes I believe) as do many of the sponsors.
Dendroboard.com - Sponsors

In order to save time (and money), I would recommend sitting down and planning your tank before you purchase anything. For example: how big (gallons) do you want your tank to be? What dimensions do you want the tank to have (cube, horizontal rectangle, vertical rectangle, hexagon)? What kind of plants do you want in the tank (begonias, bromeliads, mosses, ferns)? How are you planning the landscaping of the tank? How are you setting up misting (hand, automatic)? Lighting? Etc...

I would recommend looking through the member's vivs forums in order to get some inspiration on how it's done.
Member's Frogs & Vivariums - Dendroboard


----------



## warlock (Jun 7, 2012)

already ordered the substrate from josh.. Zach and i chatted about set up..

i have 20g longs.. want to pair at most.. leaf litter, sphagnum moss.. lid, tightly closed.. i hear they like to climb..  6,500k light 

everyone only seems to have wild caught.. boo!


----------



## Ozydego (Mar 26, 2012)

have you tried brian's tropicals, he raises vampire crabs


----------



## warlock (Jun 7, 2012)

Ozydego said:


> have you tried brian's tropicals, he raises vampire crabs


i have looked.. but i am not going to pay $150 for 6 crabs.. nope.. 

unless i get really desperate.. lol but his are the mandarins.. i want BiColor and Vampire (black/yellows)

i found a sponsor in planted tank forum.. can get them for under $7..


----------



## hypostatic (Apr 25, 2011)

By pricing alone, it sounds like they are wild caught. Keep in mind that wild caught specimens (especially for exotic species that haven't been researched much) have a low survival percentage after you get them.


----------



## warlock (Jun 7, 2012)

hypostatic said:


> By pricing alone, it sounds like they are wild caught. Keep in mind that wild caught specimens (especially for exotic species that haven't been researched much) have a low survival percentage after you get them.


i did confirm.. they are WC.. 

he said he would hold them for awhile to let the settle down.. 

but if i can find Captive Breed.. of the TYPE i want.. then i may do it..


----------



## d.crockett (May 27, 2009)

warlock said:


> i did confirm.. they are WC..
> 
> he said he would hold them for awhile to let the settle down..
> 
> but if i can find Captive Breed.. of the TYPE i want.. then i may do it..


One other thing I would offer to keep in mind is that adults generally don't ship well. The first group that I got were WC and, despite being in the country for a while, they still died within a day of getting then. I have heard several similar stories as well. CB juveniles do so much better with the stress. I would never buy WC vampire crabs again unless I could get a large enough group that the odds were better a few might make it. 

Have you checked into contacting "Wyoming Frogger" on the board? That is who I got my Red Devils from and they are happy and breeding a year later. 

It sucks but a little patience will pay off with these guys. Good luck!


----------



## warlock (Jun 7, 2012)

crocket.. i have contacted him.. 

no response..


----------



## Blue_Pumilio (Feb 22, 2009)

AquaTek in Austin gets them in from time to time (I think they have some now) as well as ZooKeeper, or they can order them for you. They can't order sexed specimens, though. They want more, but you get to purchase sight seen and well, you don't have to pay for shipping!



warlock said:


> i have looked.. but i am not going to pay $150 for 6 crabs.. nope..
> 
> unless i get really desperate.. lol but his are the mandarins.. i want BiColor and Vampire (black/yellows)
> 
> i found a sponsor in planted tank forum.. can get them for under $7..


----------



## warlock (Jun 7, 2012)

Blue_Pumilio said:


> AquaTek in Austin gets them in from time to time (I think they have some now) as well as ZooKeeper, or they can order them for you. They can't order sexed specimens, though. They want more, but you get to purchase sight seen and well, you don't have to pay for shipping!



blue.. yes.. i was there today.. they do have them.. river city said they could get some also.. but they would all be wild caught unsexed.. 

one of the workers and i were to split an order.. they are wild caught.. 

she took the 12 from last weeks order.. and she had some die.. but they only sent 1 female to 5 males.. 


i may just have to go to Houston.. they did a group order and some of the people do want to get rid of some already..


----------



## d.crockett (May 27, 2009)

warlock said:


> crocket.. i have contacted him..
> 
> no response..


Bummer. I haven't seen him on the board in a while. Too bad because he was a good guy to deal with.


----------



## warlock (Jun 7, 2012)

d.crockett said:


> Bummer. I haven't seen him on the board in a while. Too bad because he was a good guy to deal with.


i think i am just going to give up..........


and focus on getting my frogs going!!


----------



## evilhorde (Aug 28, 2011)

I have seen several different colour variations available on this website. You need to contact them to find a vendor, but I have seen red devil and bi-colors for sale here.
THE BOILER ROOM

They have nothing today, but the critter selection changes frequently. You need to check back often.


----------



## Boondoggle (Dec 9, 2007)

warlock said:


> i was going with a HYDROTON bottom.
> 
> but a more experienced person told me it was bad idea and should make a false bottom.. so now i am trying to find why?!
> 
> i already bought hydroton.. and am looking at this moment about falsebottom builds..


Nothing wrong with hydroton aside from the weight. In smaller builds I use hydroton, on larger builds I make a slightly undersized false bottom out of egg-crate then fill in hydroton around the edges as I think it looks much better.


----------



## sowphilstonsow (2 mo ago)

Can i use coconut peat as soil for my vampire crabs?


----------



## Woodswalker (Dec 26, 2014)

As long as it's very well rinsed to remove excess salts, you can use it for a temporary growout or quarantine setup. I would not use it for a fully planted enclosure, however. I'd recommend ABG mix for that, which is what I use with my Geosesarma. I'd like to point out that this thread is over a decade old, and the users who participated are not on DB much if at all, these days. You'll get better results starting threads of your own, or replying to more recently created threads on the topic, as long as you aren't hijacking the thread when doing so.


----------

