Microcrabs, Limnopilos naiyanetri-Species Spotlight

[@NobleCaveman]

Hahaha I laughed when you sorta chucked him back into his tank :D

[@RachelOLeary]

+Obesegiraffes haha, yea. not very delicate looking! No harm done though :)

[@randomguyonyoutube3908]

Rachel O'leary your awsome so these guys are compatable with shrimp

[@ErenJeager-pp7nk]

@@randomguyonyoutube3908 Yes

[@arjuneol]

Sometimes you just have to be swift while handling pets coz it minimizes the risk of them falling elsewhere and getting injured.

[@karenjgray5577]

The spider crabs are really kind of cute! In case you're interested though, I know of one other, very small, fully aquatic species. The freshwater PomPom crab; not the marine species that goes by the same name. Species; Ptychognathus barbatus. They are super cute little guys. It was suggested to me that they should be kept like Neocaridin. As with most crabs, they are scavengers. May reach 1.75 inches, legs 'n all; mostly rock/sand colours - various speckly brown shades. But unless you have a lot of them, it's not too hard to tell them apart. They originate is various parts of south Asia from fresh and brackish waters; probably need brackish or sea water for their zoeys to survive. Not aggressive to fish so far as I could see but they might give the odd shrimp a hard time. I sure did see them out and about, usually in the evening hours. They have some fascinating behaviours. Males appeared to spar with each other at times; it's possible they might do damage to each other's claws. They run quite fast, sideways of course, all around the perimeter of their tank until they turn the edge into a bare track about two inches wide. They don't seem to eat live plants per se, but they destroy plants that get in the way of their general activity and by vigorous digging. I had them on a sand substrate and they would dig into it, preferably underneath an object, to hide. Sexing them was easy. On the underside of the shell there is V-shape section; differently shaped and sized in male and female. But you have to see the underside for that, and It's easier to sex them from above; males have a fat pair of claws with a tuft of bristles at the 'wrist' joint ( the Pom Pom), and females don't. They climb reasonably well and should have a cover but none of my crabs managed to climb out, though I'm sure they could have if they'd tried harder. Very sadly, mine did not live very long - a few months at most and I wish I knew why. I will not buy any more until I can learn more about this species. They were eating well enough - Hikari mini crab sticks and they pick at algae and moss. There were small snails and small fish in with them too and they never seemed to take any notice. There's very little information about this species that I have been able to find. I'd LOVE to learn more about them.

[@sharon60233]

Karen J Gray this is wonderful. Thank you for sharing

[@karenjgray5577]

You're welcome!

[@hexmaniacgabby5160]

Karen J Gray thank you for this, I've been wanting to make a nano tank with spider crabs but don't know much about their care.

[@RoyalCrab]

Love those crabs! Of course, I love all decapods (crabs, shrimps, and crayfish) but of them crabs are probably my favorite

[@Ucceah]

i gotta get me some of these little buggers °3° another interresting "crawly", that's quite uncommon in the hobby, but common in termperate ponds, are asellus aquaticus. they breed readily and have an impressive appetite, making them a very good ground cleaner. ..and they look pretty freaky/cute! dr;tl: i have seen a lot color variation in mine, from almost black, all shades of grey, reddish and brown, to transparent, ivory, and striking pure white pigmentation, some with varying patters and marbelings. i dont have the patience to breed them all selectively, but there is potential for a good few "fancy" colored strains.

[@jamesdaniels5379]

I have the 8 gallon hygerr with a rock wall, 6 gallon water volume. I have two amazon swords, a mess of dwarf grass, java moss on the rock wall, and wood with moss on it. Would this suffice as a good tank??

[@Jennifer-nz2ss]

These are really cute!!! I would love to have them in my 5 gal!

[@Shaden0040]

Can these be kept with pompom crabs? How many of these would you say you'd need to start a colony to breed? What minimum sized tank would you suggest? What foods do you feed them? would you suggest a crushed coral substrate for shell regrowth after molting? Would they benefit from catappa leaf litter? Are they susceptable to the same parasites shrimps can get?Same questions for the pompom crabs. Can both species be kept with any snails and if so what snail species?

[@darkpaladinlanceramessesii5719]

Can you make a video on how to care for them. And what they eat

[@ZomBeeNature]

I like the idea of having them, but I would want to see them all the time instead of only occasionally.

[@davidperrin1675]

Have you seen the pompomcrab

[@expataquatics7491]

OMG youtube recommended this to me and I really want some now. I'll keep my eye out for them over here in Scotland!

[@RachelOLeary]

+Expat Aquatics welcome!

[@lydiacapaldi1539]

Thank you for an interesting and imformative talk. Really like the idea of keeping these, but, after recently getting a 10L tank, with a view to keeping a Betta and a few cherry shrimps in, was hoping to keep these micro crabs as well. I'm now thinking the Betta will eat them though, so maybe not......(sighs) ok, excuse for another tank lol.

[@omarkjohnson1188]

I'm definitely going to get me some soon. I have a question can the micrograms be kept with ghost shrimp and cherry shrimp?

[@ThatanOmega]

Do they reproduce in the aquarium?

[@mesofius]

Can they be okay in a brackish fish tank?

[@cesarcabanillas9333]

I know this is a old video but I know you are still active on KZbin by any chance do you still carry these as you said you would resell these crabs?

[@justinlobaton7574]

Have you ever bred one?

[@jeremiahoddo242]

I have or had put in main tank never saw it again. so yes small tank if ever want to see it

[@GreenCanvasInteriorscape]

Any clue as to lifespan?

[@puffsplus72]

Hey, Rachel, I am *LOVING* your videos. Some fan requests I have: 1) Can you please organize the "Species Spotlights" into a named playlist? and 2) Can you do a Species Spotlight on the Orange Hatchetfish (Laubuka dadiburjori)? I saw the quickie schooling video you posted and they look so cool!

[@RachelOLeary]

+puffsplus72 I actually have a species spotlight playlist :) I will do one on Laubuka, I had meant to and it slipped my mind! Here is a link to the playlist (was the first one I created) kzbin.info/aero/PLfwHVhEoP8rpPS3Wotle_rvVveOL_pdit

[@puffsplus72]

+Rachel: Oh oops, I missed that, sorry! And one other fish I hope you do a spotlight on -- Celechthys choprae and Tanichthys micagemmae.

[@RachelOLeary]

+puffsplus72 Choprae will be next week (spoiler alert)

[@Shaden0040]

Can these guys be kept with shrimp? Are they the same or different from the Pompom crabs? What do you feed them?

[@ErenJeager-pp7nk]

They are Shrimp safe. Powered food is good. Shrimp food is good as well.

[@26noelito]

@@ErenJeager-pp7nk are they snail safe too?

[@GK-vd4yz]

Any chance of a species spotlight for crayfish soon ?

[@RachelOLeary]

+Alex Mansely probably not as they are illegal in my state and I don't have footage. I did write an article for amazonas magazine a few years ago though

[@RachelOLeary]

+Alex Mansely I miss keeping crayfish :(

[@wobbegong9958]

what about going to your local creek and catching wild ones

[@wonteatit]

I've fallen in love with these guys! I was considering starting to age a tank for some shrimp but I think I might go with these if I can find them!

[@llanttribell3736]

beautiful! can you please do a species spot light on the killifish Jos Plateau please.

[@Dhampir6990]

what is the smallest tank they can be kept in? is it ok for my 1/2 gal?

[@RachelOLeary]

yes, they should do fine in that

[@dyliscairofoon9678]

How many could you keep in a 2 gallon tank?

[@randomguyonyoutube3908]

Dylis Cairo Foon well they are small so I would think about 3-5 as they will breed quickly

[@SabastianPahl]

Great video thanks for all the info!

[@glap8694]

Any luck breeding em yet? Ive had 25 for a year, no luck like everyone else

[@letsgettanked7344]

So when you say you have got them breeding do you breed enough to sell them or do they come through your store from other breeders?

[@rm25088]

i want some of these but everywhere is out of stock except ebay. i dont know about buying things off ebay.

[@pavloskarakannas3877]

Hey thanks for the video! very informative. Do they burrow in sand ?

[@russellbeach3207]

Fascinating ! Didn't know they even existed. Thanks

[@debrapage582]

Hi Rachel I have come back to this video because I wanted to ask you if these crabs would jump or climb out of a shallow tank. I only have six but would like to do a mini paladarium with about three inches of water. Would this be ok for them ? Thanks

[@RachelOLeary]

They are not prone to escaping

[@debrapage582]

Thank you@@RachelOLeary

[@acjupp83]

They are awesome. Wish I could keep them here in Tasmania! Legally can't have any freshwater shrimp or crab! 😥

[@brans7269]

can these crabs be kept with ghost shrimp and dwarf frogs?

[@kms108]

do you sell these crabs and ship to hong kong.

[@Zaku186]

How are these not a common and popular as cherry shrimp?

[@danieljock8660]

Missed a couple spots with them trimmers lol

[@glap8694]

Any tips to breeding them?

[@abi8641]

What food do you feed them?

[@RachelOLeary]

I feed them powdered food.

[@abi8641]

okay, what brand?

[@abi8641]

Also how often do you feed them

[@At0micAllison]

When you say tiny tank, how small do you mean? I have been maintaining a 2.5 gallon since January (with a gigantic sponge filter to provide an abundance of biofiltration). Right now I have a school of eight mosquito rasbora (brilliant & thriving), and I thought the crab such as the Thai micro might do well in there as well. Also, Do you have any recommendations for how many to keep together?

[@RachelOLeary]

They would do just fine. I would get at least 6 just so you see a couple periodically

[@At0micAllison]

Rachel O'Leary Thanks for your response. :) And I just saw your new video posted today touching on small tanks and micro crabs. How excited was I!! 😄 kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKrLaqljbMaGfsk

[@4Vio4]

Do they eat black beard algae? My lighting really has a lot of it

[@GreenCanvasInteriorscape]

The only thing that eats hair algae is American flag fish and they will destroy anybody else they live with

[@randomguyonyoutube3908]

What do they eat?

[@damionmarkham9835]

wow thanks so much when I finally get some success with my shrimp I may give these guys a try great video

[@meyowmeow1668]

I have some of these coming today and i wondered how much i should worry that they might try to escape? I noticed you don't have a top on yours but my water line is a bit higher.

[@RachelOLeary]

+Meyowmeow theybdint escape at all

[@RachelOLeary]

+Meyowmeow *don't

[@meyowmeow1668]

You have no idea what a relief that is to me! Thank you SOOO much for your reply; I couldn't find anything online that really talked about it.

[@RachelOLeary]

+Meyowmeow my pleasure

[@glap8694]

Anyone wondering, i wouldnt keep them with mystery snails. I did for a bit, until i saw a micro crab clamp its claw on the snails antannae, and refuse to let go. The snail freaked out and panicked, clearly hurt, until i myself took the crab off. Wouldnt recommend it. I would say limpet or nerite snails would be ok though. Ive had 25 of these crabs for about a year, i may even get more. I keep all 25 in a 5.5 gal, but that 5.5 gal has a sunken plane, 2 amazona plants, a large fern, 2 bulb plants, 3 msrimo moss balls, some floating duckweed and atleast 5 feet of hornwort. At one time i only see 3-8 of them out, and there is hundreds of hiding spots. I would recommend what i have as a definite successful setup, i had one side light and one dark, they VERY MUCH prefer dark. I also have some large stones they hide under often. My sustrate is a mix of very small aquarium gravel, medium sized stones, and some sand. They thrive in it.

[@bebebutterfield1]

I had micro crabs once. They weren't that cute. I love these little guys!

[@brans7269]

can they be kept with African dwarf frogs?

[@RachelOLeary]

+brans yes, I would think so

[@brans7269]

+Rachel O'leary ok thank you where do you have them available?

[@RachelOLeary]

+brans the crabs? My website is msjinkzd.com, you can contact me that way

[@Skulexander]

Would the frogs not eat them?

[@Dave-tv3hn]

Do these Micro- Crabs go along well with crystal-red shrimps? Please, and thank you!

[@RachelOLeary]

Yes they do

[@Dave-tv3hn]

Awesome, thanks!

[@26noelito]

@@RachelOLeary how about assassin snails?

[@RachelOLeary]

@@26noelito they are fine with assassins

[@26noelito]

@@RachelOLeary thank u

[@FishBehindGlass]

Never heard of these. Are they a popular invertebrate?

[@RachelOLeary]

+Fish Behind Glass niche popular. Not super common

[@shesellsfish]

Wow...now there's a great critter for all those one g betta tanks. A sponge filter and some plants...Viola...perfect desktop tank for work. LMAO...my evil little mind says you could also tell PITA co-workers that...yes indeed they ARE water spiders and come out to troll desks, cubbys and drawers at night looking for extra food.

[@TheLovatt123]

Would they survive in an Endler livebearers Tank or would they be eaten also what are the water parameters do they need soft acidic water ?

[@RachelOLeary]

+TheLovatt123 They probably would be fine, I would think any babies would be eaten. I keep them in my tap water, which is neutral, but have kept them in hard and soft water and not seen it have a noticeable impact in any specific direction.

[@TheLovatt123]

+Rachel O'leary They are very cool looking, Do you have them for sale ? They would be great for a refugium . Thanks for replying !

[@RachelOLeary]

I do :) And generally keep them in stock, but take them off my stocklist when numbers get low as they are a PAIN to find to catch in low numbers. I have quite a few right now.

[@TheLovatt123]

Thanks ,

[@simSimon1976]

cool critters!

[@TheAilaS]

I was thinking to buy one for my tank but it looks like spider so nah I dont want to have it my tank. It looks creepy.

[@SubrataDasowl]

Very interesting creature

[@Eirocina]

do you selling them? i would like to buy some if it reasonable price.

[@victortellez4987]

are they compatible with shrimp?

[@RachelOLeary]

Yes

[@victortellez4987]

Rachel O'leary thank you!

[@xaisthoj]

Maybe the young crabs need hyacinth roots to survive.

[@tinymetaltrees]

Damn, I want these! They’re probably illegal where I live though. Almost everything is. It sucks.

[@samuelcontreras9248]

awesome

[@waterlover]

I want some I have a rimless tho

[@JRGalore]

At my LFS they are currently selling these little Thai Dwarf Micro Spider crabs with assorted dwarf shrimp, badis, microrasbora, and neons. I have a 6 gallon fish tank that I might add a 3 micro crabs with my previous fish which include 3 cherry shrimp, 1 crystal red shrimp, and 3 neons. I also have a sponge filter in there recommended for 25 gallons and below but I turn the pressure down so the bubbles don't create too strong of a current. I also have a lot of plants including java moss, baby tears, java fern, and more in the tank. The tank is also dirted. I was wondering if the neons would be ok with the micro crabs but if not I'll put the neons back into my 30 gallon tank. kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3K0fqB5j8yMb9U the tank now has driftwood too.

[@deadfred821]

Jeez... I'm looking into suitable tank mates for shrimp, but this poor thing looks like it might end up as shrimp dinner....😕

[@KymoraG]

OMG they are so darn cute

[@ivanc9231]

😮they look so cool

[@skullqueen7692]

I am so sad, I bought some of these dudes and they ended up dying within a week of quarantine

[@BradfordAquatics]

They look like little aquatic spiders! :)

[@RachelOLeary]

+Bradford Aquatics (Riley Bradford) that is another common name. They are interestingly creepy

[@RachelOLeary]

+Bradford Aquatics (Riley Bradford) that is another common name. They are interestingly creepy

[@DeeFromBrooklyn]

interesting creature. .

[@NeonTetraAquarist]

Dee From Brooklyn Dee you should get some😅

[@Kittywolf13]

I kind of like these guys!

[@dmitriylevitskiy1674]

Pom pom crabs are supposed to be fully aquatic too I've been told

[@RachelOLeary]

Yea, but massive escape artists which makes me doubt it a bit

[@thorsaquatics6310]

I would keep them with shrimp only even small nano fish would starve them.

[@TheChudynasty]

Can barely hear you at the beginning and end.

[@RachelOLeary]

+TheChudynasty you guys will be happy to know (?) I tore down a rack of tanks to make a shooting station. My air pumps are LOUD- casualty of running a metric ton of tanks. EVEN with a mic- sound is not great. I am hoping in the next month or so to greatly improve on this. For now- deal and enjoy the content :)

[@StuWilloughby]

+Rachel O'leary Great news. Top quality content like this deserves better quality sound. A decent lapel/lav mic should do the trick. :)

[@RachelOLeary]

that is what I am using, honestly. Just pretty loud in the fish room. Seems to depend on what my proximity to the pump is as to how the mic works out

[@StuWilloughby]

+Rachel O'leary Wow! Scrap getting a mic then. If it's that loud in there then you need to buy yourself some ear defenders instead! Don't want you going deaf. In the meantime, have you considered sign language? Good opportunity to break new ground and expand the aquarist sign language lexicon. The sign for 'Thai Micro Crab' has the potential to be hilarious.

[@COOPERSCICHILDS]

cool vid

[@rubberduck4070]

If only they were sold where I am.

[@GUYANAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA]

+Villager Sparky where do you live?

[@rubberduck4070]

The UK.

[@StuWilloughby]

+Villager Sparky Kesgrave sell them. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/270974484159

[@rubberduck4070]

Ah, thanks for the info.

[@KuddlyKisses]

Ugh, nightmare fuel, LOL ^_- No, they're actually kind of cute ♥

[@donaldbriola7772]

👀

[@Aquaparadise22]

very interesting!

[@ChiannaNycole]

Look too much like spiders for me, gonna have to pass.

[@brandonharris62]

What would you recommend in order to get them breeding?