Crabs Geosesarma sp.

Vampire crabs are quite small, with a maximum size of about 5cm, they do not require a large terrarium and you can choose whether it is developed in width or height, as Geosesarma love to climb.

IMPORTANT! It is important to have a lid on your terrarium or tank to prevent the crabs from escaping!

A 20 liter tank is the minimum recommended size for a group of three crabs (1 male and 2 females), but a larger tank will provide more space for the crabs to explore and establish their territories. It is important to provide plenty of hiding places and enough space for all the crabs to coexist peacefully.

Although generally peaceful, males are territorial and fight over females and resources. Each crab has a different personality and some may be more aggressive or social than others. 

They are shy animals, very shy and fearful and prefer to have several places to retreat to. They are purely nocturnal and during the day they are usually found hidden in their burrows or among the plants of their habitat. They are not particularly active creatures, but they love to explore their environment and can be seen climbing on plants or rocks. A blue RGB light strip can be used to observe your little friends at night.

Coconut fibre, cork bark and live plants can be used to create a natural and comfortable environment, the more natural the terrarium is made, the more active and visible your crabs will be. Remember that they are rainforest crabs, so try to emulate that!

Vampire crabs require a heavily planted environment, with about 80 percent land and 20 percent water. We recommend plants and branches on which crabs can climb and hide. Several hiding places should be provided, both in water and on land. Some plants we suggest include:

• Pilea Peperomioides

• Hypoestes

• Climbing ivy

• Asparagus fern

• Peace lily

• Tradescantia

• Dwarf banana plants

• and any type of fern or moss.

Any plant commonly used in a terrarium will do the trick. Vampire crabs need a warm, humid environment, with a humidity level of 75% or higher. You can use a humidifier to increase humidity or mist regularly with a spray bottle.

As reported above, it would be appropriate to divide the terrarium into two areas, an aquatic part and an emerged area. In the aquatic part a good indication for water values ??is:

• Water temperature: 22–25°C 

• PH: Between 7.5 and 8.0

• KH (carbonate hardness): between 0 and 10 

• GH (general hardness) Between 4 and 16

• Ammonia: 0

• Nitrites: 0

• Nitrates: less than 20 ppm

It is recommended not to use reverse osmosis water unless you plan to remineralize it. Vampire crabs need a lot of minerals in their water to survive, so RO alone will eventually kill them. Tap water works well as long as it is dechlorinated first. Typical aquarium dechlorination products are also suitable for crabs. In the water section, a sandy substrate is recommended.

In the water section of the terrarium you can use any aquarium plant. Vampire crabs have been observed to catch and eat Salvinia, a floating plant, in captivity. 

Every six months the Geosesarma do not disdain living in brackish water, simulating the natural change that occurs among mangroves in nature.

As regards the emerged area, however, it is best to proceed as follows:

• Air temperature: 22–28°C, increasing during the day and decreasing during the night. If the temperature of the terrarium goes from 20-30°C in a 24 hour period (slowly) this is correct as this is what happens in nature. 

Vampire crabs require a substrate that can retain moisture and maintain a high humidity level. The best substrate you can use is simply coconut. Allows vampire crabs to burrow better.

DIET:

Vampire crabs are omnivorous and eat a wide variety of foods. In nature they feed mainly on small invertebrates and debris (dead plants and animal material). In captivity, they can be fed fruits, vegetables and pellets.

 Some suggested food options include boiled nettle, boiled spinach, boiled beans, boiled peas, boiled corn, boiled zucchini, bananas, fish, shrimp, clams, snails, crickets and other small insects. Shrimp pellets are also a good option. It is important to provide a varied diet to ensure your crabs receive all the nutrients they need. Even fresh, live foods such as crickets, worms, shrimp, snails, etc. they are excellent for their diet.

BREEDING:

Vampire crabs are relatively easy to breed in captivity. They present a marked and evident sexual dimorphism, the males have larger claws and a more prominent abdomen than the females. Furthermore, just observe the abdomen, that of the male is a triangle with a very narrow base, while the abdomen of the females will be wider and rounded to allow the incubation of the eggs. It is important to provide a suitable environment for breeding, including a high level of humidity and a substrate suitable for burrowing.

MOULT:

Vampire crabs shed their skin occasionally in a process called moulting. They will do this in the water, so it is important to make sure they have easy access to the submerged portion and a soft substrate to burrow into. Once they shed their skin, they usually hide for about a week. If you notice any color changes in your crabs they are most likely preparing to molt. This change allows the crabs to regenerate lost limbs and increase in size. It is a stressful process for crabs and they should not be disturbed during this time!

COHABITATION: 

• Can I put different species of crabs together? The simple answer to the question is NO and the complicated answer to this question is NO. Mixing Geosesarma species with any other crab species will lead to war and death! It may not happen right away, but it's a time bomb and eventually different species will start killing each other.

• Can I put different species of Geosesarma crabs together? The answer is that it would be better not, especially if you plan to breed and reproduce them.

• Can I insert isopods or springtails and worms in the emerged area? Springtails are very important to have in your vampire crab paludarium, it will also be useful to have some isopods, as they help clean up any food scraps and crab waste. It is not recommended to use highly valuable isopod colonies or at least have a secondary colony as the crabs are prone to eating the isopods themselves.?

• Can I put fish in the aquatic area? The answer is yes, but obviously you will have to take into consideration the needs of the chosen fish; First, you need to make sure that the selected fish has the minimum amount of space required (water volume) if the chosen species needs 10 liters of water. Make sure you have 10 liters of water to use! Fish selection is also important, fast fish are the best because they can usually escape any predation attempts. The most important thing is to avoid Betta fish as they have long fins and are easy targets for crabs to catch. Adding fish will reduce your chances of having baby vampire crabs by more than 90%, as baby vampire crabs spend a lot of time in the water or on the shore, making them easy prey for fish.

• Can I keep prawns, prawns and snails? If fish are out of the question because your tank is a little too small, you may want to consider adding shrimp. Although they have a good chance of survival, your crabs will occasionally catch some shrimp and eat them, even if your aquarium is set up specifically your shrimp should reproduce faster than your crabs can eat them. Be sure to only catch neocaradina shrimp and not caradina shrimp as neos have very similar water needs to vampire crabs. Snails are an excellent choice as cohabitants, for example among the best choices are ramshorn or neretine.