Can you keep 2 baby horseshoe crabs in a 125

[Makubex]

Fowlr, lots of live rock

 

[Makubex]

Hello ??

 

[ZoWhat]

I see why not. Do it

 

[Makubex]

I dont have several inches of sand though, is just 125 pounds of crushed coral, i heard they need a lot of sand to flip over is that true?

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

I would not keep any. They can get quite big, and would have difficulty even turning around in a 125. Any rock in the tank will be bulldozed over once they grow, and they could eat fish or corals you add in the future. The tank would also be constantly cloudy from their digging. On top of that, they prefer cool water temperatures, and would not thrive in a reef. Some people have babies in their tanks, but I have yet to see any adults. I believe that most die off after a few months. They are beautiful animals, but very few private hobbyists can keep them successfully.

 

[Tamberav]

Lots of live rock doesn’t seem appropriate for a sand dweller. Neither does crushed coral.

 

[Chrisv.]

I think if you really wanted to make this a priority, you would have to go FAR put of your way to do it right.

I'm sure you could source some from a tropical area if you did it deliberately, so that's not as big of an issue, but the amount of substrate probably is. Also my understanding is that these guys really eat quite a lot, and love to eat creepy crawlies in your sand bed.

If you really really want to do it and make the tank all about them, then ...maybe. Perhaps even probably.

Long term will of course be an issue. If they live, they get huge. You will want to start small so that you don't starve them from day 1.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I would not keep any. They can get quite big, and would have difficulty even turning around in a 125. Any rock in the tank will be bulldozed over once they grow, and they could eat fish or corals you add in the future. The tank would also be constantly cloudy from their digging. On top of that, they prefer cool water temperatures, and would not thrive in a reef. Some people have babies in their tanks, but I have yet to see any adults. I believe that most die off after a few months. They are beautiful animals, but very few private hobbyists can keep them successfully.

Yeah, as I understand it, most of the time these guys starve (I guess a lot of people just assume they eat detritus, but they actually eat mollusks, worms, crustaceans, and dead fish/cephalopods too). They get really large (like up to 2 feet long large) and they eat a lot, so the average sand bed detritus in a tank only goes so far.

With regards to the water, they’re found all the way from Canada down to Mexico on the Gulf Coast, so they can handle the higher temperature (though they might grow smaller in higher temps), but it likely isn’t ideal. Similarly, they seem to prefer brackish water, but they retreat to relatively deep ocean water in the winter (~100 feet deep), so they should be able to handle the salinity too (again, likely not ideal though).

While you could keep them in a 125 temporarily, they would (assuming you’re feeding them properly) outgrow it eventually, and - as others have mentioned - your tank (particularly the size and substrate) isn’t really set up for them. They have a strong preference for sand/mud and need a ton of room width wise to maneuver around (their carapace can get up to about 1 foot around), and this is where I (mainly) see you running into problems.

So, short term, you could keep them, but the substrate isn’t ideal - long term your tank is almost guaranteed to be to small for them to live in well, and they might suffer some issues from the high temp and salinity (might, I’m not entirely certain).

 

[Chrisv.]

Yeah, as I understand it, most of the time these guys starve (I guess a lot of people just assume they eat detritus, but they actually eat mollusks, worms, crustaceans, and dead fish/cephalopods too). They get really large (like up to 2 feet long large) and they eat a lot, so the average sand bed detritus in a tank only goes so far.

With regards to the water, they’re found all the way from Canada down to Mexico on the Gulf Coast, so they can handle the higher temperature (though they might grow smaller in higher temps), but it likely isn’t ideal. Similarly, they seem to prefer brackish water, but they retreat to relatively deep ocean water in the winter (~100 feet deep), so they should be able to handle the salinity too (again, likely not ideal though).

While you could keep them in a 125 temporarily, they would (assuming you’re feeding them properly) outgrow it eventually, and - as others have mentioned - your tank (particularly the size and substrate) isn’t really set up for them. They have a strong preference for sand/mud and need a ton of room width wise to maneuver around (their carapace can get up to about 1 foot around), and this is where I (mainly) see you running into problems.

So, short term, you could keep them, but the substrate isn’t ideal - long term your tank is almost guaranteed to be to small for them to live in well, and they might suffer some issues from the high temp and salinity (might, I’m not entirely certain).

Any idea what the growth rate is on these guys? OP asked about babies and I do see babies available from time to time. Is this like a lobster that will take 10 years to go from an inch long to being ready for the steamer?

 

[JumboShrimp]

I would regularly find them washed up on the shore on Long Island. Most were the size of a large-headed tennis racket.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Any idea what the growth rate is on these guys? OP asked about babies and I do see babies available from time to time. Is this like a lobster that will take 10 years to go from an inch long to being ready for the steamer?

Fair question- looking at it, they are slow growers (the PDF with a graph detailing average growth per year in mm won’t let me select the graph, but I’ll link it below). They take ~9-11 years to reach maturity, and they molt ~16-17 times over that timeframe (molting less frequently the larger they get). They hit ~2 inches wide at 4 years old, ~6 inches wide by 9 years, ~9” by 15 years, and - for the females, which grow larger - ~12” by 18 years (though their growth does vary depending on their location), so, OP, you may have a lot more time I would have guessed.

https://www.int-res.com/articles/meps2003/246/m246p225.pdf

 

[vtecintegra]

This animal has no business in a home aquarium. It's irresponsible for stores to sell them. Don't be one of those people.