5 Care Tips for the Red Claw Crab #careguide #crab #fishcare #redclaw

Red Claw Crabs are a fascinating and exciting brackish species to own. With their beautiful colors and high activity level, these critters will certainly keep you occupied.

But like all brackish creatures with aggressive tendencies, you need to know what you’re doing if you want to own one. That’s why we put together this guide.

This resource has everything you need to know about Red Claw Crab care. It includes info about their ideal tank setup, diet, tank mates, average lifespan, and more!

Species Summary
Red Claw Crabs (scientifically known as Perisesarma Bidens) are unique little creatures that you can keep in your aquarium. While they may be shy and defensive, these crabs are full of character.

Originally, these crabs hail from bodies of water throughout Asia. They can be found in shallow rivers and estuaries that meet with the sea. Thus, their natural habitat is typically brackish.

Contrary to popular belief, Red Claw Crabs are not freshwater crustaceans. While they can survive in a purely freshwater tank, but they will not reach their full life expectancy unless they have some brackish water to live in.

Lifespan
In captivity, the average Red Claw Crab is between 2 and 2.5 years.

However, this is only possible if you’re providing them with the very best environment! Like all aquatic animals, these crabs are sensitive to water conditions.

Appearance
Red Claw Crabs are stunning crustacean with some standout features. With most specimen, the main body is relatively neutral. It’s usually brown and accompanied by spots for easy camouflage.

Average Size
The typical size of an adult Red Claw Crab is about 4 inches (this is measured in leg span).

Red Claw Crab Care
Red Claw Crab care requires you to be aware of the unique conditions that these animals need. You can’t just pop them in a freshwater tank and call it day! Their habitats should be carefully crafted and heavily monitored.

Tank Size
We recommend a tank size of at least 10 gallons if you plan on keeping Red Claw Crabs.

Water Parameters
Providing the right water parameters is probably the most important part of Red Claw Crab care.

If you want to keep this species happy and healthy you’ll need to replicate their natural environment in the wild.

Tank Setup & Decorations
Putting together the perfect tank setup for Red Claw Crabs is quite fun and unique! As we said earlier, these crustaceans need land and water to stay healthy.

Food & Diet
Red Claw Crabs can be quite predatory. However, they’re omnivores that will accept anything you give them. In most cases, predatory behavior is actually more about territorial disputes than food.

To keep your crabs healthy you can feed them a varied diet of protein and vegetables.

They love snacking on bloodworms, brine shrimp, and pieces of uncooked fish or shrimp. As for vegetables, you can provide blacked spinach, peas, or other leafy greens.

Behavior & Temperament
Red Claw Crabs can be a joy to watch. That is, however, if they let you watch them!

These crabs are known to be quite skittish and tend to do most of their exploring at night. During the day this species will spend a lot of time hiding.

Red Claw Crab Tank Mates
First of all, let’s get one thing straight:

Red Claw Crabs are best kept in species-specific tanks. There’s a couple of reasons for this.

First, they’re incredibly territorial and have been known to fight. Secondly, their brackish nature makes it difficult to find compatible tank mates.

Breeding
Breeding Red Claw Crabs in captivity is nearly impossible. Some aquarists have seen the creatures spawn in tanks. However, the eggs rarely ever hatch. Even those that do tend to die off quickly.

These crabs begin their lives as larvae, so they are very vulnerable to attacks. The crabs don’t exhibit any parental behavior whatsoever. In most cases, the adults will feast on the larvae.

Summary
Now that you have a full understanding of what proper Red Claw Crab care entails, it’s time to decide if this species is right for you.

Like all brackish creatures, these crabs require a little bit of extra effort and knowledge if you want them to thrive. While some aquarists view this as a hassle they want to avoid, others find it an appealing challenge.

If you want to learn more check our detailed guide https://www.aquariumsource.com/red-cl...