Horseshoe crabs?

[wiggie89]

I just out two quarter sized ones in my tank they just burried thereselfs in the sand. What do they eat?

[DaveG99]

Your going to need a 2000 gallon tank to keep them happy. They need a lot of sand to live in. I am not sure what they eat but I dont think they are reef safe.

[Pmolan]

I bought some a long time ago, they burried themsrlves then never saw them again!!!

[kingfisher62]

My friend had one for a while and his ate any type of meaty food even flakefood. he said his would actually swim to the surface upside down to eat the flakefood.

[FLReefGirl]

I had one for a while. They are great for keeping your substrate turned over. Mine also ate flake and frozen food and did the upside down swim to the top for more. Funny, even funnier when he got caught in the current of a PH.:lmao: I was told by the LFS that they burrow for food too, pods I guess. You need a lot of open sand bed for them and deep enough for them to burry themselves to rest. They scurry around the sand all day long. I brought mine back because I didn't have enough open space on the floor of the tank. He kept banging into rock and/or getting stuck. I felt bad for him.

[alan214]

They're comparable to sand-sifting stars in that you seldom see them and they usually starve to death within a year. They're fun to watch for a little while but don't get too attached.

[1F2FRFBF]

We used to see horseshoe crabs down by the bayfront here. They do get quite large, like a foot or better, not counting the tail.

[wiggie89]

yea but they where so funny i had to get them and they run around in the sand and bump into the side. they seem pretty happy ill feed em everything i got they should like somthing

[Travis L. Stevens]

They're omnivores that feed on annelid worms and molluscs, but don't turn their nose up on a free meal they can scavenge off of. But they are not well suited for captive environments, even large tanks. These guys grow quickly and up to 20 inches in length. They are also VERY strong, can burrow, and cause avalanches from burrowing and pushing rocks. Lots of things can be harmed in their innocent search for food. They eat a large enough portion of food, that they often leave tanks rather desolate of fauna.

[Randall_James]

They are not even really crabs, closer relation to spiders... (medically significant animals btw, google horseshoe crab blood)

[Scoobydude825]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9908460#post9908460 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Travis L. Stevens
They're omnivores that feed on annelid worms and molluscs, but don't turn their nose up on a free meal they can scavenge off of. But they are not well suited for captive environments, even large tanks. These guys grow quickly and up to 20 inches in length. They are also VERY strong, can burrow, and cause avalanches from burrowing and pushing rocks. Lots of things can be harmed in their innocent search for food. They eat a large enough portion of food, that they often leave tanks rather desolate of fauna.

Just thought I would mention that if they do cause an avalanche there is a chance that it could shatter the glass on the aquarium. It happened to a friend of mine.

[pledosophy]

I kept one for about 6 months in an 18g. I was feeding the tank 10 live ghost shrimp and a pinch of flake food daily. Crab did fine and grew like crazy.

He would go MIA for awhile, usually after molting. First time he molted I thought it was dead since I removed the shell thinking it was the animal, freaked me out when I saw something moving under my sand a month later. Ah the joys of a newb.

Mine grew about an nch a month while I had him. Has he got larger he would often knock over rocks, corals, and remove powerheads from the glass.

If I had a huge tank I'd like to ahve one again, but it wold really have to be a very very large tank. They get about the size of a dinner plate.

HTH

[DamnDamsel]

For the most part anything that burrows in teh sand is eating everything that lives in your sand. I assume if your sand is deep enough for them to burrow in you are running a DSB and need all those little critters that the horseshoe is eating.

[wiggie89]

Well i do have a pretty decent sand bed but my trick is i dont care anout it because its only for looks I have a 12" deep sand bed in my refug that is there for all my filtering purposes