Horseshoe Crabs - Anyone have them?

[Carlo Miceli]

Just wondering if anyone has horseshoe crabs and what do they think of them? I was interested in getting some and looking for the pros and cons...

 

[Synch]

I think the problem is that they can grow very very large...

 

[MAReefer1]

I seen some at a petco in stoughton a while ago 2 dollars each about the size of a half dollar. I didnt buy it, but I think they look pretty cool.

 

[GinaD]

I had one in my old fish-only 55-gal tank many many years ago for almost 2 years and thought he was cool. "Tank" lived until the fire...
I got him when he was only 2" diameter so he never had a chance to grow up. [smilie=1,4,5]
I hear they get quite large - I've seen pics of them at almost 12" diameter.
They need a lot of cleared floor space, as they move around a lot and don't climb.

 

[Yaktop]

if you want or have a DSB (deep sand bed) then dont. they will eat ALL the great critters you are trying to keep.

 

[Carlo Miceli]

glad I made the post then. I didnt even think of those potential issues...

 

[Rays]

If you go down the cape, and into some of the bays and inlets, you can see them as large as dinner plates.

 

[jebar777]

i had one till my mithrax ate it. good thing is they keep the sand bed turned up the bad is if they come out of the sand bed they cant outswim the current in most of our tanks...

 

[aweeks95]

i can remember as a kid going to the cape and catching them at low tide. we would pick them up by their "tale" and watch their feet move like mad....a fond memory!!

i have seen them for sale but would never think to put them in a tank, i'm surprised they are ever considered as an inhabitant....they do get large...to large for the average tanks we keep.....well most of us anyway.

cool critter, just not for a tank, IMO !

 

[APISTOBORELLI]

We've had them at the store where I work. Never saw them really. Always in the DSB.

 

[RobboT]

if you want or have a DSB (deep sand bed) then dont. they will eat ALL the great critters you are trying to keep.

BIG DITTO ON THIS . . . got one as a "bonus item" in a cleanup crew I once bought. Did a great job cleaning all of the pods and seemingly every other life form out of my DSB.

 

[Carlo Miceli]

thanks for input all. I guess the final answer is no HS Crab! lol