The Puffer Forum

Ok, so I have this little female red clawed crab. I was wondering if she and a figure 8 puffer would be able to get along. I'm thinking that the f8 would probably eat her... I have her in her own tank right now, and a 20g waiting for a f8, so if they don't work it's no problem And I was wondering if there was any risk of danger to the puffer from the crab as well.

Who knows exactly how it would turn out, but you pretty much have to assume that the F8 will attack and kill the crab. And it is entirely likely that the crab could do serious damage to your puffer in the process, unless you rip off its claws first.

Yeah, but you may luck out though. My 2 lazy puffers (Takifugu ocellatus and GSP) don't like crabs too much (even if I throw in a frozen crab leg in their tanks they would not bother biting it if the meat is not completely accessible). The fugu has lived with an electric blue hermit crab for months until it died from not eating for days. The GSP is living with an anemone crab and they get along fine. I know that it is not common but it's possible that puffers can live with crabs

If you really like the crab don't do it.

I bought 6 red clawed crabs yesterday and put just 1 in the tank to see what would happen and Naboo went nuts

I've never seen him move so quick and skillfully before, he was like James Bond

He was like an Apachy hellicopter hovering and darting around but a lot quicker, he kept raming the crab to daze it. I put the other 5 in and let them hide as there's loads of hiding places in my tank where the Puffers cannot get.

I've put them in there so the puffers have something to hunt not for me to look after, Naboo caught one and ate the whole lot pretty quickly, the rest of the fish in my tank had some to.

So the quick answer to your question from me would be no!

Even though F8's are small they'll bite the crabs legs and claws off (Naboo my Mbu is only about 3inches long!)

Lol, I put the crab in the tank earlier today (no puffer in there though) and now I have no idea where she is... maybe she got out and I'll wake up with her on my face!
I'm not too attached though, don't worry. And if my f8 decides to bite her legs off then I'll just feed the rest of her to my GSPs, cause I'm sure they'd love to have her

pinkfloydpuffer wrote:Lol, I put the crab in the tank earlier today (no puffer in there though) and now I have no idea where she is... maybe she got out and I'll wake up with her on my face!
I'm not too attached though, don't worry. And if my f8 decides to bite her legs off then I'll just feed the rest of her to my GSPs, cause I'm sure they'd love to have her

LOL

I originally bought 1 crab and couldn't find him, I did a water change and found him at the top of the tank wedged between the glass I slide over to get in to the tank and the side of the tank. I chucked him back in the tank and then left it for a couple of days. I then did a massive gravel clean and water change and I couldn't find him anywhere! there were no body parts left so I don't think Naboo got him, I think he must have got out of the tank and is somewhere in my room

Now that I've put another 6 in my tank I have put one of those plastic mesh ball things you can buy to wash with in the shower at each end at the rear of the tank (where the little triangle is cut off the corner of the glass that you slide) so that the crabs cannot get out

Don't worry folks... I've found Guinnevere (the crab)
Whew, I did not want to have chunks of skin missing when I woke up

Well, I found Guinnevere dead today. I have no idea what happened. I know that Fletcher didn't kill her. Oh well, Fletch is having a yummy meal now

At the risk of sounding like a dumb**s I have a red crab in with my DP's and I thought he was dead yesterday but when I got the skull ornament out of the tank that he lives in, a complete shed shell floated out and the crab ran up my arm, I screamed like a girlie!!!! Are you sure it's a dead crab not just the shell?

Pandora wrote:At the risk of sounding like a dumb**s I have a red crab in with my DP's and I thought he was dead yesterday but when I got the skull ornament out of the tank that he lives in, a complete shed shell floated out and the crab ran up my arm, I screamed like a girlie!!!! Are you sure it's a dead crab not just the shell?

ROFL
Yep, I'm sure. Cause I fed it to my puffers, and they got nice full bellies. It was quite disgusting though, I'm never doing that again. *shudder* But there was definitely meat in there. I got a nice view of it..... *barf*

pinkfloydpuffer wrote:

Pandora wrote:At the risk of sounding like a dumb**s I have a red crab in with my DP's and I thought he was dead yesterday but when I got the skull ornament out of the tank that he lives in, a complete shed shell floated out and the crab ran up my arm, I screamed like a girlie!!!! Are you sure it's a dead crab not just the shell?

ROFL
Yep, I'm sure. Cause I fed it to my puffers, and they got nice full bellies. It was quite disgusting though, I'm never doing that again. *shudder* But there was definitely meat in there. I got a nice view of it..... *barf*

I fed a fiddler crab to my Turgdis a few days ago. It's really surprising how well the crunching sound carries through the water and glass.

Dadof4 wrote:

pinkfloydpuffer wrote:

Pandora wrote:At the risk of sounding like a dumb**s I have a red crab in with my DP's and I thought he was dead yesterday but when I got the skull ornament out of the tank that he lives in, a complete shed shell floated out and the crab ran up my arm, I screamed like a girlie!!!! Are you sure it's a dead crab not just the shell?

ROFL
Yep, I'm sure. Cause I fed it to my puffers, and they got nice full bellies. It was quite disgusting though, I'm never doing that again. *shudder* But there was definitely meat in there. I got a nice view of it..... *barf*

I fed a fiddler crab to my Turgdis a few days ago. It's really surprising how well the crunching sound carries through the water and glass.

lol yeah I know what you mean

Now and again I hear a loud crunching and I just think 'Naboo's found another crab'

There's defenatly 2 crabs left in my tank, they've found a way of climbing up a plant and into my square net box at the top of my tank

They sit on top when they want to be out of the water and climb in it to have a nice soak