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fiddlers

newreef15

Hatchling
Registered
Joined
Nov 23, 2009
Messages
2
i wanted to order 20 fiddlers for my soon to be coming octopus and my question is what kind of set up do i need and what kind of food can i feed them. And u can post pics of ur set up i am new to this and i want as much info as possibal before i start up. thank u in advance.:confused:
 
I would buy lots of 100 fiddlers. My octo would eat 3-4 per day. I would keep them in a 66Qt Sterlite container filled with about 4 inches of water with a few pieces of rock sticking out of the water. About once a week I would dump the water and replace it with "water Change" water from one of my systems. They eat pretty much anything.
 
Mine like to burrow into the damp sand as they do in their natural habitat. I have found with experimentation, a good quality flake works best, they consume it entirely and no smelly waste to foul the tank up.
 
Ok stupid question... Does any body worry about the fiddlers hurting the octopus. I have a relatively new hummelinki and have been feeding ihim snails, and ghost shripm I would like to fee him crabs but dont' knoew if he is big enough. The mantle is about 2 inches. Also I know the crabs are salt water but can they live in the tank long enough for the octopus to find them? I am trying to teach him to eat off a stick- he is pretty small for the 55 gal tank yet. Will he find them before they die? I am retty picky about the water quality and don't like to leave it to chance with the possibility of something dying and fouling the water. Sorry for such basic questions. Pattye
 
Pattye,
I disable the large claw on the male fiddlers (the claws on the females and the small claw are not a problem). You can do this by breaking off the very tip of the top claw (only the tips come together to actually pinch and puncture). Sometimes the crab will throw the whole claw when you do it this way but most times it will stay attached and add to the food value. I only put a couple in the tank at a time. I have had them live over 2 weeks even without surface access.

Your hummelincki WILL know what to do with it and if she/he sees you put it in, it won't make it to the bottom of the tank. They don't leave much in the way of bio-degradables when they eat a crab.
 
Thanks so much! He does seem to love them. He has eaten two though I have only seen the shells outside his den. Guess I will be ordering a big lot of them. Disabling the claw is a great idea. I just don't want the octopus to get hurt. Yeha I know, hes a predator but still... : )
 
Well....my fiddler crabs ariived today, all alive and I was very pleased! They are temporarily in a small fish bowl with wet sand, flake food and an old ceramic fence to climb on! Sachs was very good and quick!
 
Im not sure yet, but I might be able to ship some fiddlers to our tonmo members for just the cost of shipping. Im not quite sure how that would work yet, but I learned I have wild fiddlers about 8 miles away where I go fishing every week or so. Im not sure how many there are, but if theres a bunch I'd be glad to send you some. I know they are kinda expensive so it might be worth it. But again Ill check to see how many there are in a month or 2 when it gets warmer.
 

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