Your Own Little Vampire (Crabs)

Not every LFS around gets into Geosesarma Crabs. Which is a great shame, these are very interesting critters and they need an even more interesting display. Pretty much all of the species of crab in this genus need both dry land and water in their display. A display like that is called a Paludarium. There are at least 75 species of Geosesarma Crabs, and only a small fraction of those is ever seen in the US.

Geosesarmas don't actually need a ton of water in a tank, as long as your crab can get in and out of the water along some kind of shoreline, and on the other end, can completely submerge when it needs to, its aquatic  needs will be met; a deep puddle that tapers off in depth so that your crabs can easily get in and out would do, but why stop there? Geosarmas aren't generally very large, less than a couple inches across at adulthood, though some can get a little bigger. This means they don't need a ton of space (of land or water) and this opens up a lot of possibilities. Pause here and do an image search on the word “paludarium” and let your imagination run with the possibilities. A blackwater tank teeming with tetras below and some Rainbow Vampire Rouxi Crabs above? Wowza. What about a tank full of Convicts underneath some Disco Vampires above? There are so many cool combinations you could play with here.

The “dry” portion of the tank should offer plenty of cover and lots of stuff to climb, including wood, rocks and plants. As long as there are enough plants, the crabs are actually beneficial to them. They'll clean up around them and pull dead leaves, generally keeping things tidy. In small displays with too many crabs for the number of plants, the greenery could get over-loved and struggle. Some Geos are diggers and will make themselves a burrow in the sand or leaf litter should you choose to use it. As most species are excellent and enthusiastic climbers, we suggest having a tight-fitting lid, which will also help you maintain a warm humid environment for them to thrive in. The display should be somewhere between 75 and 82 with a humidity over 75% to keep your crabs happy and active. A trio of some of the smaller species could fit in a tank that was ten gallons. Larger species and bigger groups will obviously need more space.

In regard to fish, you can keep your crabs with anything that won't eat them. All of the Geo Crabs should be kept in groups that are single species. They are a community animal and so they do best when kept with buddies, but can be very intolerant of other crabs, even other Geosesarmas that aren't the same species. Nearly all of them are going to like the same foods, which is everything. These crabs are omnivorous opportunists. They'll scavenge food and hunt as well. This means they'll keep a very clean tank but will also regularly require supplemental chow. There are dedicated, high quality crab foods available out there, which can be used. Your crabs will also love live insects, worms and tubifex as well as fresh (and less than fresh) fruit, veggies and even freshwater fish foods like Nutramar Algae and Color Boost Shots and Pellets, or Gamma Mini Bloodworms. A note of caution about feeding old fruit. The fruit flies will come, and they are a real pain to get rid of.

As of the writing of this, here at Aquatropic, we offer our partner stores 11 different species of Geosesarma Crabs, in a full gamut of colors. These critters could be the center of attention in your Paludarium, which will definitely draw some looks in any room; or these crabs could play a support role to a vibrant and detailed aquarium below them. Geosesarma crabs are easy to keep, fun to watch and a Paludarium is an amazing combination of tropical terrarium and planted aquarium and maybe it's time you tried both? Head over to your Local Fish Store and start talking about Geosesarma Crabs with them. Tell them Aquatropic sent you.