my crab is a killer

[ashleigh]

My crab Akon was fighting with another crab Emily over a shell which Emily had but Akon wanted. So I put more shells in but to day when I did check up before I left for school I found Emily dead with no legs and Akon in her shell I think Akon killed her. THE WORST THING IS NOW AKON IS DOING THE SAME TO MY OTHER CRAB BABY I THING HE MIGHT DO THE SAME TO BABY.
What do I do????????????

[moire_eel]

Put Akon in ISO for a while, and make sure he (and everyone, really) get enough protein in their diet. You can usually get little frozen fish in the fish section of the pet store, or feed fish or small amounts of other meat from the grocery store as long as it has no salt or preservatives added. Sun-dried baby shrimp are a good protein source too, and easy to keep around as they don't have to be kept in the fridge. You might need to leave the fish in the tank for a day or so before anyone shows an interest in it -- crabs like their food on the "overrripe" side.

[kuplakrabs]

You may also want to put several larger shells in the ISO with him so he can finally find one he is happy with. I'd leave him in there for at least two weeks (and hope he occupies a new shell) and then reintroduce him to the rest of the gang under strict supervision. Sometimes a crab is looking for a nice comfy shell just before a molt and can become rather nasty if s/he can't find one...which often results in a shell fight.

I also agree with moire. Get some protein and nitrogen into their diet. Here is some info I posted in another thread.

One excellent source of nitrogen is from the decomposition of plant and animal materials. I have purchased live crickets from the pet store and fed the dead ones to the crabs. As they die, they get put into the food dish. The crabs love them. Remember, they are scavengers in the wild.

There is also another method that several other crabbers have had success with...it is not for the squeemish at heart though. Purchase a few feeder fish and place them in a bowl of aquarium salted water until the "go belly up" and then feed them to your crabs. I usually wait until the next day so the decomposing process is well underway. If you can't bring yourself to follow this method, you can purchase frozen silversides available at most larger pet stores.

The lack of nitrogen in the captive crabs diet is thought to attribute to aggressive behavior as well. Providing a very extensive diet for them is essential to keeping them alive and healthy in captivity.

[Kali_Ma]

I just got a book on Crustacean Nutrition and it turns out that another extremely possible reason for aggression and cannibalism is lack of carotenoids. These regulate many systems including molting and lack of them will cause aggression.

Are you feeding seaweeds or algae regularly? If not, you need to get some at once and make sure they have access to it several times a week.

[kuplakrabs]

Good point Kerie. I give my guys at least one type of seaweed each night. I've got red, green, purple, and brown (those aren't the technical names lol). They really do seem to enjoy it whether it is dry or rehydrated. I will have to look for an old post where we talked about the whole seaweed issue and you gave links to some great places to purchase seaweed.

BTW, here is a tiny bit of info on carotenoids in case anyone wants to read a little more LOL
http://www.astaxanthin.org/carotenoids.htm

[ashleigh]

thanks I have feeder fish for my axololts so they can have some. I have live ones and frozen ones which would be best???????

[Kali_Ma]

The frozen ones have less risk of disease as anything contaminating them will tend to be killed off with a week's freezing. But the crabs do like them fresh-killed as well. Silversides are much more nutritious than goldfish, though.

[ashleigh]

Iam sorry I can't kill gold fish I have them as pets...I use guppies as feeder fish the wild typ are they ok to use??????????

[Kali_Ma]

They'd be better than goldfish.