The Puffer Forum

so i was in this aquarium superstore called "Captain Nemo's" and they had a decorator crab/dressing crab. this thing was really cool but i know my puffer is too curious about everything to let him live in the tank no matter how "decorative" he gets. if i were to get him i would do only him in a tank, but i have wondered if anyone has had any success or knows anyone that has kept these with their puffers? i just watched a youtube video from BBC about these things and they had one with a porcupine puffer and the puffer would swim by and the crab would freeze in its place as it saw the puffer coming close by. anyone have any input? i figure it would just become food. i think its incredible that it would(and can) take anything from rocks to algae to anenomes and put them on their shell just to try and blend in. i would guess that since it evolved to blend in so well, its constantly in an area that has predators looking for them so maybe they have evolution-ized to really not be seen unless its seen moving.

I had a Red Claw Red in with my GSP for a few months before he got eaten. Any crab you put in there will most likely get eaten, but if it's cheap enough I'd get it and just keep replacing it, lol.

i do put emerald crabs in there, usually get 3 of them. one for a snack for him and keep him busy while the other 2 scatter so i can have something between rocks and all to eat uneaten food that falls out of reach. i think the decorator crab was somewhere around $15 so thats a little expensive for a snack, thats why i would only do a different tank for him and not subject him to my puffers appetite to kill and eat crabs. we watched this crab pick up a gravel size piece of rock, "lick it" and go to stick it on himself. well it fell off and we watched him search with his claw for that exact piece, "lick it" again and put it right back where he wanted it. it was one of the coolest things i have ever seen.

I think they make a dip for poodles with crabs.

lmao... did you do it to the word t-ank too? and make it oc-ean?

^and the word w-a-t-e-r is now "water"

I have fiddler crabs in with my GSP and she doesn't try to eat them at all. I saw her get pinched by one of the males with his large claw when i first got them and that was the end of that. I also provide some hiding places for the crabs so they aren't stressed but the only time she bothers with them is if they are holding her food. Give it a try! Good Luck! The keep the tank really clean

Give it time... they'll be dinner eventually.

I have to agree with PP here. I had a crab in with my Mbu and the crab lived for the longest time and I thought it was really cool. The crab was quite bold too because I used to have other puffers in there and he would come out in front of them, but they didn't seem interested. I thought maybe he could go on living since he hadn't been eaten right away but.....

he's not been seen in a long time and I suspect that BeeBoo found him and that was the end of that!

The crab I had in with my GSP was pretty bold. He lived in a log decoration and would chase the puffer away if it got too close, but he was eventually eaten.

video:

And a picture (look in the background, lol)

My Shakespeare has taken some crays that dwarf a redclaw crab or fiddler. Give a GSP time, and it will be a crab slurping machine.

haha my GSP doesnt usually give the crabs a chance to hit the substrate without a chunk taken out of them already

I was gonna try giving Samson a crab, But I mad ethe mistake of telling the guy at the LFS, so he wouldn't sell me one LOL! I guess from what he told me, theie not allow'd to sell them as feeders?.


PS: I have a mystery snail with him right now, he did try taking a few shots out of it, but gave up, the snail is now at the oppisite end of the tank, and he stays there. LOL!



Don

I found a hitchhiker hairy crab and a friend found the same. They both went into Zephyrs tank, after dark, while he was in his sleep spot. Every once in a while I'll catch sight of one skittering and I've never found body parts so at least one of them is still alive. Theres a lot of LR so they'd be tough to catch but I figure it's good entertainment for him...

Hmm I will be interested to see what happens in the future...

I had the crabs in the tank before the puff so I wonder if her growing up getting pinched has traumatized her.

I'd be happy if she'd actually eat one. She's so picky she won't even eat snails anymore. I may have spoiled her with bloodworms.

On a similar topic my fiddler crabs are carrying eggs. Will she keep the zoea population under control by eating them when they hatch?