anyone have a horseshoe crab?

i was wondering if anyonw had horseshoe crabs at any point in there tank? i like them and wanted to know if i could have a small one in my 10 gal til it gets bigger.

what is their growth rate?

if not then well any ideas on what i should do with the ten gallon. im kinda leaning toward some out of the ordinary stuff.

thanks

Gexx

 

I personally wouldn't get one. I had one for awhile but for some reason it didn't stay alive. I think it might have been lack of food. They are voracious scavengers. When you first get one, your tank turns into a sandstorm as they stir up the sand bed looking for food. I'm not sure on the growth rate but the one I had would def be too big for a 10 gal and it was the smallest I could find. Strong flow will also throw them all over the place in that small of a tank.

 

I love horse shoe crabs... but unfortunately they should not be kept in anything but the largest aquarium.

They grow very fast and can get up to 2' long which makes finding them a suitable home hard to impossible.

They are also prone to starving to death.

 

they need a large tank with a big sand surface area.

 

ok so any ideas on out of the ordinary inverts that would be suitable for a 10 gal?

 

Mantis shrimp.

 

Oh yea! Defanately to with a mantis shrimp, I catch horseshoe crabs to sell at the market and the live pretty well if they are at least 6 inches long when they are young they dye easily, so without a couple hundred gallon at the least don't mess with them. I don't know why they collect them when they are so young they rarely survive, mantis shrimp are totally awesome and bizzarre

 

i saw this "program" on the television a while back about the horseshoe crab and its results on overfishing. i think ppl use the meat from the crab for bait to catch cray fish? n e ways these rare birds are dying cause of no food. going extinct. problem is they grow slow, live forever (decades i do believe) and dont reach saxual maturatity quickly. i would leave this guy in the ocean and give the birds a chance! i am sure i am missing bits and pieces i will see if i can find so info to amuse you all.

 

I have heard that too Jm'sRSM. I thought I read they were being over fished for an ingredient in medicine.

 

here is a link to some info. ya i just read about the medical applications. crazy. better use than bait.

Horseshoe Crabs