Horseshoe crab

[CrazySaltwater Lady]

im looking to possibly buy a horseshoe crab but would like to know the pros and cons and what are they really for? Thanks

 

[Shep]

Short answer is, don't get one. Long answer is that they require enormous tanks, can be very destructive in tank (knocking things over and such), will almost always out grow your tank and can be somewhat troublesome to feed. They are best left in nature

 

[CrazySaltwater Lady]

Short answer is, don't get one. Long answer is that they require enormous tanks, can be very destructive in tank (knocking things over and such), will almost always out grow your tank and can be somewhat troublesome to feed. They are best left in nature

Excellent thanks for the info .....ill leave him where he is then he just looked cool ...oh well

 

[Shep]

Excellent thanks for the info .....ill leave him where he is then he just looked cool ...oh well

haha that can the hardest part of this hobby sometimes! There are so many amazing looking fish/corals/inverts but some of them just do not do well in our tanks and are best left in nature. You were smart to do research first!

 

[CrazySaltwater Lady]

I

haha that can the hardest part of this hobby sometimes! There are so many amazing looking fish/corals/inverts but some of them just do not do well in our tanks and are best left in nature. You were smart to do research first!

I try my very best to research and read about anything I want but could not really find anything on them ....I appreciate it very much

 

[Fishhands]

I had one that did great. It was a tall tank not a long one. It ate crap and leftovers like most inverts. They like to bury themselves and stir the sand. Also love to float/swim in the water column. Up and down loops and twirls. Probably would do great in a low flow seahorse tank for a few yrs. They do get big though.

 

[Tautog]

I have them, their slow growers, shed like most crabs, eat small stuff in the sand bed. It's very cool to have a living dinosaur in your DT, but I've heard their protected by federal law, but see Vendors like LA selling them. I've collected small ones, 2-4 inch in diameter, and their survival rate is great.
Just a very cool, active crab, doesn't hurt or bother my corals, but will plow over or push corals in the sand bed. You need to " fence in " corals with larger shells, rocks, or racks to prevent them from plowing. I've had mine for over a year, and they have been around for millions of years, just another good reason to keep one!

 

[taf78944]

I just bought one of these. I have to admit, it was kind of an impulse buy. They just look so cool it was hard to pass up, i may end up giving him away to someone with a more suitable tank. I have too much live rock for it, it's like watching a bumper car.

 

[Tautog]

I just bought one of these. I have to admit, it was kind of an impulse buy. They just look so cool it was hard to pass up, i may end up giving him away to someone with a more suitable tank. I have too much live rock for it, it's like watching a bumper car.

Don't give him, or her away! Wait till you see them swim! Upside-down! And it's the only living Dinosaur you can get!

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I take care of our horseshoe crabs at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. The care is relatively straightforward. We basically give them good water quality and target feed them makrel and shrimp. They really don't need anything else. The only trouble is they plow through things. The Living Seashore touch pool has no rockwork whatsoever. We also keep the water around 67*, which would be troubling for reef conditions. We also keep them in salinity slightly lower than reef ranges, usually around 31ppt. They actually do best between 20ppt and 30ppt, but we keep the salinity slightly higher than 30ppt for the sake of the rays, skates and whelks. If you can afford the space and can provide a colder water environment, they are really cool animals.

Our main touch pool is about 3,600 gallons total:

 

[Shep]

I take care of our horseshoe crabs at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. The care is relatively straightforward. We basically give them good water quality and target feed them makrel and shrimp. They really don't need anything else. The only trouble is they plow through things. The Living Seashore touch pool has no rockwork whatsoever. We also keep the water around 67*, which would be troubling for reef conditions. We also keep them in salinity slightly lower than reef ranges, usually around 31ppt. They actually do best between 20ppt and 30ppt, but we keep the salinity slightly higher than 30ppt for the sake of the rays, skates and whelks. If you can afford the space and can provide a colder water environment, they are really cool animals.

Our main touch pool is about 3,600 gallons total:

Love the National Aquarium, one of the best parts of living in Baltimore!

 

[Tautog]

I have them in my reef tank and my cold water local tank, they do fine in both The local tank has no heat or skimmer, and temperatures range from 55 - 80 degrees

 

[Mrsrich]

I take care of our horseshoe crabs at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. The care is relatively straightforward. We basically give them good water quality and target feed them makrel and shrimp. They really don't need anything else. The only trouble is they plow through things. The Living Seashore touch pool has no rockwork whatsoever. We also keep the water around 67*, which would be troubling for reef conditions. We also keep them in salinity slightly lower than reef ranges, usually around 31ppt. They actually do best between 20ppt and 30ppt, but we keep the salinity slightly higher than 30ppt for the sake of the rays, skates and whelks. If you can afford the space and can provide a colder water environment, they are really cool animals.

Our main touch pool is about 3,600 gallons total:

I have a horseshoe for several months now. His tail tip got broke at some point, and I'm worried about it . What would you recommend to treat?

 

[meliya]

Saya merawat kepiting tapal kuda di Akuarium Nasional di Baltimore. Perawatannya relatif mudah. Pada dasarnya, kami memberi mereka kualitas air yang baik dan memberi mereka makan ikan tenggiri dan udang. Mereka tidak membutuhkan yang lain. Satu-satunya masalah adalah mereka suka menerobos. Kolam sentuh Living Seashore sama sekali tidak memiliki bebatuan. Kami juga menjaga air sekitar 67*, yang akan mengganggu kondisi terumbu karang. Kami juga menjaga mereka dalam salinitas yang sedikit lebih rendah dari kisaran terumbu karang, biasanya sekitar 31ppt. Mereka sebenarnya tumbuh paling baik antara 20ppt dan 30ppt, tetapi kami menjaga salinitas sedikit lebih tinggi dari 30ppt demi ikan pari, ikan pari, dan siput. Jika Anda mampu menyediakan tempat dan dapat menyediakan lingkungan air yang lebih dingin, mereka adalah hewan yang sangat keren.

Total kolam sentuh utama kami sekitar 3.600 galon:

Ka brng kali kka ada yang ukurn 35 sya ingin membli sya prlu skali untuk obat ka

 

[likden]

im looking to possibly buy a horseshoe crab but would like to know the pros and cons and what are they really for? Thanks

Hey girly pop. I am someone who’s obsessed with horseshoe crabs and am in the middle of the extensive prep to own one in the future for hopefully the rest of my life. Horseshoe crabs can absolutely live happily in captivity if you are up for the tank size and upkeep. They can get quite large but their growth rate is quite slow and it can take 20 years (from my research at least) to fully mature. The ones you can buy start out at around the size of a quarter and don’t need the 300 gallon tank size of adults but that is inevitable and nessesary. They are beautiful intelligent creatures and love to play with their surroundings. They are highly curious and love exploring and some like to be taught tricks and games. Many places say that they like slightly less salinity then typical marine animals but research is constantly evolving and I would look at mostly aquarium set ups for this species as that will be way more accurate to what you need then a normal home owner. Their food is actually quite accessible especially when they’re small. :)

 

[Reef Jedi]

I take care of our horseshoe crabs at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. The care is relatively straightforward. We basically give them good water quality and target feed them makrel and shrimp. They really don't need anything else. The only trouble is they plow through things. The Living Seashore touch pool has no rockwork whatsoever. We also keep the water around 67*, which would be troubling for reef conditions. We also keep them in salinity slightly lower than reef ranges, usually around 31ppt. They actually do best between 20ppt and 30ppt, but we keep the salinity slightly higher than 30ppt for the sake of the rays, skates and whelks. If you can afford the space and can provide a colder water environment, they are really cool animals.

Our main touch pool is about 3,600 gallons total:

Super cool!