Arrow Crab Species Tank

[Krab123]

Hello everybody! I'm new to this hobby, and am going to be starting out with a 20gal tank. I want to make it a species tank for the arrow crab, Stenorhynchus seticornis, because 1. They look like something out of a Tim Burton movie and are so cool looking, and 2., because I've heard they will eat small fish, crabs, and sometimes corals. Any suggestions? I plan on using 2 HOB filters, but I am wondering if that is not enough. If it's not enough , I might buy a skimmer as the only means of filtration, besides live rock. Anyway, comments and suggestions are extremely helpful! Bye bye now.

 

[Calappidae]

My arrow crab was returned to the lfs because in 2 month's time, a 3" crab grew basketball sized and grew too big for my 125 gallon.. yeah speaks for itself. Extremely large, and surpisingly fast growers. Doubled each time it molted and molted every 2-3 weeks I think.. maybe sooner than that.

Atleast a 55 for an arrow, species setup or not.

In reguards to them hurting tankmates, all crabs are oppertunisitic.. from hermits to calicos. The only crabs that can be labeled "harmless" are the pom poms and porcelains which filter feed primarly.

Oppertunistic means if the animal is hungry, and a slow, sick, or in general easy target is infront of it, the animal will take the oppertunity to grab it. Arrows are definitly biggies at this because of their large size giving them more options. Hermits can't really catch fish being smaller and heavy.. but the larger species become more dangerous.

 

[speedyron]

yeah 20 gal is pretty small but u said starting out with a 20 does that mean u will be upgrading cuz that will only work about a year. do u plan on housing it with anything else. that will make a diff on what equip u will need

 

[Krab123]

Thanks! The reason I wanted to have an arrow crab species setup is because I love the inverts more than the fish. I might try a different crab or shrimp species. Any suggestions?

 

[Calappidae]

In a 20, anything not named arrow or calico/shameface crab. Large hermit crabs like the hairies are bad as well. Stay away from ALL starfish and most urchins. (Tuxedo and halloween urchins are fine. Pincushion I'm iffy with)

Mantis shrimp also make excellant species tank setups but consituring there is several of them avialible and a couple would outgrow the 20 you'd have to confirm the species. (Which is in an entirely different forum: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=37 Pseudosquilla ciliata is a very active spearer and 20 is just the right size)

Coral banded shrimp are very similar to arrow crabs too and might mix well with fish. They're a little oppertunistic too but not as bad.

My personal favorites are not just the mantis shrimp but harlequin shrimp which are compatible with everything. Although they only eat starfish so their difficulty would depend on the cost of live starfish (only food source) and avialibility. Not exactly a beginner's choice either..

If you're new to the hobby just remember, the larger the water volume the easier like the other person was trying to say. Might be worth going up a little more for difficulty alone rather than just to house the animal.

 

[Sangheili]

Lookup sponge decorator crabs