Sand Crab/Mole Crab - Hoping someone can help me

[jglackin]

I came across a place the other day that sells sand crabs for reef tanks. I forgot to bookmark the site and now I cannot find it again. I am not sure if I will go with any mole crabs, but they also had some other detrivores that were interesting.

Have any of you ever stumbled across such a site?

 

[Pufferpunk]

That guy's cool! Looks like a mole. I bet my Mantis would like him as a roomate!

 

[jglackin]

Yeah, they would be great buddies. Your mantis would have him over for dinner.

 

[kawicivic]

lol.... when i was little i would catch about 100 of those things a day and put them in a bucket of sand... the next day you would walk outside and either have a ton of seagulls eating them or it would smell terrible bc they would have died from being in a bucket or water all day and rotting... o those were the days....

on a more serious note.... you can get these for reefs? that would be sweet

 

[Pufferpunk]

Anyone see cheap crabs/snails around me? I really need to get some live food for my Mantis? He's been on a hunger strike.

 

[PSam]

I have a couple big turbos you can have . I'd rather they weren't eaten, but they'll starve in my tank soon...

 

[little_squid]

those are what we called sand flees when i lived in florida
i dont think they would live long in a reef tank i could be wrong but they live right at the edges on the beach where the waves break think they need lots of food

 

[yankeereefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10734443#post10734443 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pufferpunk
Anyone see cheap crabs/snails around me? I really need to get some live food for my Mantis? He's been on a hunger strike.

I thought someone was online doing a group buy on snails a week or so back.

You can get away temporarily with feeding it fresh / frozen raw shrimp or krill. Though it needs something to smash regularly or it will loose it's appendages.

Good luck jen

 

[little_squid]

here one post i found on wwm

Sand "Fleas"
Hey Bob,
Years ago I would surf fish in Florida with my Family. We always used "sand fleas" for bait. I noticed that they loved to dive into the sand, and did not get all that big. Do you know if they could be used in my live sand substrate to stir it up? Do you know if there are any problems with them? As always, thanks for you response and great advice. Kevin
<Likely some sort of Sand or Mole Crab, like here: http://www.assateague.com/mole-cr.html
Not easy to keep in captivity, due to life history, being covered, uncovered by tides, waves... but worth investigating for sure. Bob Fenner>

 

[jglackin]

Anyone?

I have read that they are reef safe and actually do a great job of stirring up the sand bed.

 

[Ladipyg]

saltwaterfish.com was carrying them

 

[jglackin]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10735297#post10735297 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ladipyg
saltwaterfish.com was carrying them

YES!! Thank you! They are carrying them.

 

[little_squid]

please research more before you spend your money on those
just emailed my brother about him adding them to his tank he said the same they all die pretty fast. not sure if its a food thing or the fact in the wild the waves wash sand away and expose them ect..

 

[little_squid]

food for thought mabe post on the local florida forum and ask the same question. im sure someone has picked them up from the beach and tried them with the same issues.

if they were good everyone would sell them and have in a tank ya know
i know i would

 

[PSam]

I don't see how they would last in a tank always submerged. We used to catch them when the wave would retreat, leaving that little air hole. Just scoop up some sand, and sift to find the little guys. I'm guessing they don't breathe exclusively underwater...

 

[Ladipyg]

I also remember using them in Florida as bait and getting them from the beach between waves...I don't remember ever seeing them where they would be completely underwater all the time. Do you think a sea cucumber would work as well?

 

[Pufferpunk]

Psam, I can use those turbos for cleaning up my red turf algae, so they won't get eaten.

Yankee, My Mantis used to eat fish & shrimp but has refused that for a month. That's why I'm looking for live.

 

[yankeereefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10737063#post10737063 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pufferpunk
Yankee, My Mantis used to eat fish & shrimp but has refused that for a month. That's why I'm looking for live.

Hunger strike / refusal to eat is a typical sign that your mantis is getting ready to molt.

 

[Pufferpunk]

I had a feeling... It hasn't molted in the 6 or so months I've had it. How often do they molt? How long can they go w/o eating? I asked in the Mantis forum & got nothing. Anything I can do to help him along, like add a drop of Lugol's? I already do huge WC on his tank.

 

[jglackin]

Here's something I found about mole crabs:

"they only spend part of the year at the surfs edge, then when the water temps fall during the Winter, they go to deeper water, and spend a large amount of time free swimming, according to one article. Also, when they spawn and the eggs hatch, they themselves are part of the plankton-culture. When they leave the larval stage they return to the surf's edge as "recruits" and intermingle with the adults. Also they are pushed down the beach by the currents and the wave, which means you may find large collections of them in one place and few or none in another spot. A couple of articles say the reason the live at the surfs edge is for protection from predators while they spawn. "

I am looking for more information, but apparently, from bits and pieces that I am finding, they do not require any land to crawl out on or direct access to air.