How do you house Fiddlers?

[jlarzelere]

I'm headed down to the coast here in a few weeks. I have someone watching Seymour and my other fish. However, I plan to bring back live fiddlers from a bait shop while I'm at the beach, as it's only a four-hour drive.

How do you house them? I've read about setups requiring land and water, but I'm unsure if they are just being used for food or if they need a whole enclosure with a heat lamp and all. When I used to order them for my pufferfish from Live Brine Shrimp, they came in a bag with wet cardboard, but I would freeze them and feed them that way.

I don't really have the space as of now to set up a massive enclosure for them in the future I will but I'm curious how others have kept them!

 

[wise_s]

People usually set up paludariums for keeping fiddler crabs long term. If kept submerged, fiddlers will eventually drown but it usually takes 3-4 weeks. I would just get a tub or storage container and place a few rocks for them to climb on and fill it with a few inches of water. Make sure the highest point is several inches below the top of the container, as they have a habit of climbing out. You can either add an air pump and airstone or get a cheap filter to keep the water circulating. Feed them occasionally (there are a number of prepared foods available). Try to get all females (the ones without the big fiddle claw), as males will tend to fight. You can regulate the temperature with a heat lamp and a clip-on fan. Overall, keep it simple or you'll find yourself spending more time tending fiddler crabs than you do your octopus.

 

[jlarzelere]

People usually set up paludariums for keeping fiddler crabs long term. If kept submerged, fiddlers will eventually drown but it usually takes 3-4 weeks. I would just get a tub or storage container and place a few rocks for them to climb on and fill it with a few inches of water. Make sure the highest point is several inches below the top of the container, as they have a habit of climbing out. You can either add an air pump and airstone or get a cheap filter to keep the water circulating. Feed them occasionally (there are a number of prepared foods available). Try to get all females (the ones without the big fiddle claw), as males will tend to fight. You can regulate the temperature with a heat lamp and a clip-on fan. Overall, keep it simple or you'll find yourself spending more time tending fiddler crabs than you do your octopus.

Thank you!! This is super helpful. I think this is about how bait shops keep them (depending on which one). I was finding myself looking into a whole habitat and I really didn’t want to do that!

 

[TMoct]

I use one of these plastic cages with half an inch of salt water in the bottom, but I also put in an oversized piece of coarse filter foam (larger than the footprint of the cage), so that it lays diagonally in the cage, mostly out of the water. The crabs climb up onto the foam and stay out of the water most of the time, but they can get wet if they want to. The foam is kind of like this picture below (really easy for them to climb on).

I change the water every day -- just lift the foam into an empty bucket (with some crabs attached, if they want to hang on), put the lid back on the cage, and dump out the water through the slots while keeping the remaining crabs captured.

I should also point out that I haven't had much success getting them to eat and live for long periods of time, so I'm definitely answering the question "What do you do?" and not "What would an expert do?"

 

[jlarzelere]

I use one of these plastic cages with half an inch of salt water in the bottom, but I also put in an oversized piece of coarse filter foam (larger than the footprint of the cage), so that it lays diagonally in the cage, mostly out of the water. The crabs climb up onto the foam and stay out of the water most of the time, but they can get wet if they want to. The foam is kind of like this picture below (really easy for them to climb on).

I change the water every day -- just lift the foam into an empty bucket (with some crabs attached, if they want to hang on), put the lid back on the cage, and dump out the water through the slots while keeping the remaining crabs captured.

I should also point out that I haven't had much success getting them to eat and live for long periods of time, so I'm definitely answering the question "What do you do?" and not "What would an expert do?"

I love this idea and definitely considered something similar!! Do you use a heat source at all?

 

[TMoct]

I don't use a heat source -- just room temperature. It's quite minimal.

 

[Elessar333]

I'm headed down to the coast here in a few weeks. I have someone watching Seymour and my other fish. However, I plan to bring back live fiddlers from a bait shop while I'm at the beach, as it's only a four-hour drive.

How do you house them? I've read about setups requiring land and water, but I'm unsure if they are just being used for food or if they need a whole enclosure with a heat lamp and all. When I used to order them for my pufferfish from Live Brine Shrimp, they came in a bag with wet cardboard, but I would freeze them and feed them that way.

I don't really have the space as of now to set up a massive enclosure for them in the future I will but I'm curious how others have kept them!

I would avoid getting ANYTHING from a bait shop! That’s how I killed my first octopus, a Pacific “brown”; Bait shops frequently use a copper-based solution for their critters/bait, to keep survival rates up and decrease infestation from parasites……which of course, is EXTREMELY fatal for cephalopods. Even when they claim nothing was used, or “that blue color is just methylene blue” (anyone know the toxicity of same for cephalopods?), they really don’t know what may have been added before their shipment. Please spend more to get fiddlers from a reliable supplier (which, unfortunately is seasonal….better hurry up). If you’ve fed several live crabs by hand, then feeding a frozen one (freshly dead before freezing) should be no problem, so keeping large numbers alive is no longer such an issue. Unless u r looking for the “enrichment aspect” of live feeding/octopus hunting their prey.

 

[jlarzelere]

I would avoid getting ANYTHING from a bait shop! That’s how I killed my first octopus, a Pacific “brown”; Bait shops frequently use a copper-based solution for their critters/bait, to keep survival rates up and decrease infestation from parasites……which of course, is EXTREMELY fatal for cephalopods. Even when they claim nothing was used, or “that blue color is just methylene blue” (anyone know the toxicity of same for cephalopods?), they really don’t know what may have been added before their shipment. Please spend more to get fiddlers from a reliable supplier (which, unfortunately is seasonal….better hurry up). If you’ve fed several live crabs by hand, then feeding a frozen one (freshly dead before freezing) should be no problem, so keeping large numbers alive is no longer such an issue. Unless u r looking for the “enrichment aspect” of live feeding/octopus hunting their prey.

Oh wow, thank you for this! I may have to spend the money on live brine shrimp, but I know people here used to use them before they switched to bulk only. We are still working on switching over to frozen. I got him a week ago, so he's still adjusting.

Do you know of other reliable sources for fiddlers besides live brine shrimp? When I last contacted them, their bulk was about 1200, which is a lot to keep live for an extended amount of time. I think I would have to freeze most of them.

I'm feeding emerald crabs caught from the Florida Keys right now. I may have to try and catch them while I'm there!! I'm staying at Isle of Palms in SC, but I may have to go find some tidal pools, maybe at another beach nearby.

Edit: I haven't tried ghost shrimp yet. I do have a tank for feeders for my lionfish, who just started eating frozen, so I may have to set that back up.

 

[Elessar333]

Oh wow, thank you for this! I may have to spend the money on live brine shrimp, but I know people here used to use them before they switched to bulk only. We are still working on switching over to frozen. I got him a week ago, so he's still adjusting.

Do you know of other reliable sources for fiddlers besides live brine shrimp? When I last contacted them, their bulk was about 1200, which is a lot to keep live for an extended amount of time. I think I would have to freeze most of them.

I'm feeding emerald crabs caught from the Florida Keys right now. I may have to try and catch them while I'm there!! I'm staying at Isle of Palms in SC, but I may have to go find some tidal pools, maybe at another beach nearby.

Edit: I haven't tried ghost shrimp yet. I do have a tank for feeders for my lionfish, who just started eating frozen, so I may have to set that back up.

What kind of ‘pus do you have? Can you interact with/hand feed him? Once they trust you (and assuming we’re not talking a BLUE-RINGED!), then they’ll typically take chunks of raw seafood (fish, mussels, clams, oysters are a favorite) right from your hand. If they are ravenous and still exploring, they will undoubtedly try to climb up your arm. The only proviso with that is: they can bite. Some believe ALL octopuses have venom….even my favorite, the Bimac does, but excepting the Blue dude, it’s like beesting level (unless you’re weirdly allergic). Unless the venom cross-reacts with another allergen you’ve been exposed to, it’s unlikely you would have been previously bitten by a ‘pus to BECOME allergic.
Emeralds are expensive; if you must feed live, go for Pithos crabs, at 2/3 price of emeralds, available at SaltyBottom.com. They are incidentally also the BEST bubble algae eaters I’ve seen (emeralds may/may not).

 

[Elessar333]

What kind of ‘pus do you have? Can you interact with/hand feed him? Once they trust you (and assuming we’re not talking a BLUE-RINGED!), then they’ll typically take chunks of raw seafood (fish, mussels, clams, oysters are a favorite) right from your hand. If they are ravenous and still exploring, they will undoubtedly try to climb up your arm. The only proviso with that is: they can bite. Some believe ALL octopuses have venom….even my favorite, the Bimac does, but excepting the Blue dude, it’s like beesting level (unless you’re weirdly allergic). Unless the venom cross-reacts with another allergen you’ve been exposed to, it’s unlikely you would have been previously bitten by a ‘pus to BECOME allergic.
Emeralds are expensive; if you must feed live, go for Pithos crabs, at 2/3 price of emeralds, available at SaltyBottom.com. They are incidentally also the BEST bubble algae eaters I’ve seen (emeralds may/may not).

Another live favorite, as mentioned, are live oysters. They love opening them, and lots of meat.

 

[jlarzelere]

Another live favorite, as mentioned, are live oysters. They love opening them, and lots of meat.

I haven’t tried live oyster but did try opening one for him. He’s a bimac and I’ve been hesitant to put my hand in there and currently using tongs to hand him things. I’ll definitely try since I’m not allergic to bees or anything! I have some live clams in there currently and he just pulled them into his den but not really eaten them.

 

[Hrtland_Patriot]

What kind of ‘pus do you have? Can you interact with/hand feed him? Once they trust you (and assuming we’re not talking a BLUE-RINGED!), then they’ll typically take chunks of raw seafood (fish, mussels, clams, oysters are a favorite) right from your hand. If they are ravenous and still exploring, they will undoubtedly try to climb up your arm. The only proviso with that is: they can bite. Some believe ALL octopuses have venom….even my favorite, the Bimac does, but excepting the Blue dude, it’s like beesting level (unless you’re weirdly allergic). Unless the venom cross-reacts with another allergen you’ve been exposed to, it’s unlikely you would have been previously bitten by a ‘pus to BECOME allergic.
Emeralds are expensive; if you must feed live, go for Pithos crabs, at 2/3 price of emeralds, available at SaltyBottom.com. They are incidentally also the BEST bubble algae eaters I’ve seen (emeralds may/may not).

Saltybittom.com is a bathing suit boutique. Are you sure it was dot com?

 

[Hrtland_Patriot]

Saltybittom.com is a bathing suit boutique. Are you sure it was dot com?

*saltybottom

 

[Elessar333]

*saltybottom

Correct; it is: “Saltybottomreefcompany.com”

 

[tonmo]

lol good catch!