On November 5th last year, I decided to put together a quick and dirty paludarium as a grow out for a handful of Red Devil crabs I had caught from my main tank. The tank’s been really easy to care for, and is way more pleasure than work, so I thought I’d share some photos […]
Every couple of weeks, I need to weed out the extra floating Salvinia Minima from my 10 gallon paludarium. When I remove the plants, I shake them around in a shallow bin of freshwater, to find as many of the baby crabs that are living in the plants as possible. This week I found 4 that are about as small as any I’ve ever seen.
Tagged Crabs on January 14, 2015 | No Comments
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7ST_gsbeQw
I just got this little guy from MsJinkzd and gotta say, he’s a mean little snail hunter. I estimated he’s murderized 150 malaysian trumpet snails in the last 3 days. Very fun to watch in the 5 gallon paludarium next to my desk.
Tagged fish, paludarium, puffer, snails on February 7, 2014 | No Comments
I started a new facebook group for people who keep or are interested in Geosesarma crabs. Feel free to join up if you’re interested.
Tagged Crabs, Geosesarma on July 11, 2013 | No Comments
If you don’t know Odyssey’s videos, you’re missing out. His youtube channel is an amazing resource full of some of my favorite Stiphodon and Rhinogobius shot in the wild. It’s amazing to see the Percnopterygionus and Atropurpureus I keep at home, in their native habitat. Here’s a couple more of his recent videos:
Tagged fish, rhinogobius, stiphodon, video on January 27, 2013 | No Comments
This month, Tropical Fish Hobbyist is featuring my Geosessarma breeding video in their newsletter and blog. Check it out at http://www.tfhmagazine.com/blogs/2012/08/31/crabs-breeding-in-the-45-gallon-paludarium/
Tagged breeding, Crabs, Geosesarma, TFH on September 10, 2012 | No Comments
Unfortunately, the Red Devils do show a bit of a cannibalistic streak. There were fruit flies in the tank, as well as the worms and isopods that live in the soil, but this adult chose to grab a younger crab instead. The crab actually tried to fight off my tongs when I went in to separate them, and only relinquished his prey after a forceful push and pull. It’s possible they instinctually need larger prey than fruit flies, or that they respond to over crowded territory this way. I’m not really sure what to make of it, but have seen it several times before.
Tagged breeding, Crabs, Geosesarma on July 26, 2012 | No Comments
Just a few quick photos showing some of the recent growth in the paludarium I built for TFH magazine. I’ve started using the drip feature for only a few minutes every other day or so, in an effort to combat the algae that had started growing on the cork and Riccardia in wet areas. Some of the plants handle being trampled by the crabs better than others.
Tagged Crabs, paludarium, plants on June 4, 2012 | 1 Comment
I’ve been keeping Geosesarma crabs now for many months, and they’ve been steadily reproducing in the paludarium. But except for one rare occasion, I haven’t actually seen them complete the mating ritual. This weekend, I was lucky enough to catch them on film.
Tagged breeding, Crabs, Geosesarma, paludarium on February 28, 2012 | 1 Comment
Last week, I was at the right place at the right time, and my good friend Ricky aka Inka4040/Pabloxanibar hooked me up with a clutch of Rhinogobius Zhoui eggs hanging from a rock. The beautiful parents are above.
The eggs have been in a 2.5 gallon tank with an air driven sponge and powerhead for the past week, with water pouring over them. They generally take around 10-12 days to hatch. Today, the first of the bunch started hatching out.
In the photo above you can see the tail of the first one to hatch, as it is struggling to escape it’s shell. Below, a video of the same scene, in which you can see several individuals twitching.
Interestingly enough, the hatch is starting today on a full moon, and started late in the afternoon. Being a thorough fishkeeper, Ricky has tracked his last few hatchings, all which have fallen within 24 hours of a full moon. Makes you wonder…
Tagged breeding, eggs, fish, rhinogobius, video on February 9, 2012 | 2 Comments
