Dwarf Horseshoe Crabs?

[STiTCH87]

I remember seeing somewhere online a type of horseshoe crab that IIRC they said would only grow to 2-3 inches and was reef safe. They were white in color. Anyone know the ones? I was thinking about getting one or two to stir my sand bed but I can only find the ones that get to 1-2 feet and welp, that's a big no in a 29g.

 

[Royalty]

Why don't you try Sand swifting starfish they turn the sand bed over pretty good I just got a sand swifting star fish 2 months ago.

 

[STiTCH87]

Because I only have a 29g which is not enough of a sand bed to suit the appetite of a sand sifting star and i'd rather not chance him dying beneath the sand bed and me not being able to remove him before a nitrate spike. I actually had one once before but removed him for that very reason. Also because they tend to stay below the sand bed and what I need is something the stirs up the very surface layer of sand similar to how a hermit crab does by dragging his shell around, but more efficient. If you've ever seen what a horseshoe crab does to the surface of a sand bed, you'd know why they're my top choice. They stir up every nook and cranny of the surface which means great algae control, and a nice clean white sand bed. I was contemplating a sea cucumber but would rather not risk the change of it getting sick/dying and crashing my tank.

 

[diverbh4]

Have you looked at Nassarius snails or a sand sifting goby?

 

[STiTCH87]

Well I do have 3 tonga nassarius snails but they only move the sand beneath the surface (with the exception of when they emerge from the sand bed to look for more food) so they don't do a good job of stirring the surface. I've thought about a sand-sifting goby but heard they get sand all over everything and that doing so could negatively affect my corals?

 

[s_kelley]

I have a few fighting conch that do a good job along with my nassarius snails.

 

[STiTCH87]

Had a fighting conch once before, but he really didn't do much of anything in my tank but waddle around here and there and spent a lot of time on the rock work or even the glass til one day my hermits ate him. Lol I know it's driving me crazy cuz i've tried so many things but just can't seem to keep the very surface of my sand bed clean and stirred and nothing wants to spend time on it except my hermits and my algae blenny. Well and my shrimp ofcourse but those guys are so light they barely touch the sand.

 

[Sean Irwin]

Unfortunately Horse Shoe crabs are even more voracious predators on sand in fauna than the sand sifting star. There's no way you'll be able to keep one in a tank that size. You're better off getting more sand based detrivores like spaghetti and bristle worms. Indo-pacific Sea Farms and Inland Aquatics are two of the more respectable sources of these animals. You may also want to post in the WTB section since at least one member (Greg Hillar) use to sell detrivores.

 

[7IHd]

Well, as for stirring up the sand, a pistol shrimp will certainly turn over a lot of the surface sand and if you have plenty of detrivores, you should be able to keep the sand pretty damn clean. If your sand bed weren't so fine, I'd suggest siphoning up some of the crud every once in awhile, too.

 

[Takara]

don't bother with one they will annoy you and not live long

 

[STiTCH87]

Thanks for all the help people. I do have bristle and spaghetti worms. Probably gonna get myself a tiger pistol and a diamond goby and see what job they do.

 

[JayM]

they don't live long, and will wipe out the fauna in a 29g too quickly, then starve. You'd be better off improving the flow near your sandbed to keep it clean. It will have the added benefit of blowing your detritus around, and once that is filtered out, it will improve your cyano/nutrient problem

 

[STiTCH87]

Yeah I have a very high flow at my sand bed but not all of it gets filtered out. I still get the pieces of LR that crumble once and awhile naturally and then pieces of molt from hermits and shrimp that I miss get in the sand along with fish waste (my algae blenny used to take rather enormous wastes) etc. I have a Vortech so there is most certainly an undertow or whatever you'd want to call it and the pump is turned up quite high so I honestly don't feel like it is a flow issue since I don't have an algae on my sand bed at all anymore. In fact, no cyano or algae anywhere with the exception of a few very very light pieces of hair algae that'd be expected on some LR. The sandbed honestly isn't even that dirty, I just like how it looks bright white after I stir it up a bit.

 

[tommy6905]

the horseshoe crabs your talking about, they have some at lovely pets, i just picked one up

 

[STiTCH87]

Let me know how they do.

 

[tommy6905]

will do

 

[Brimc]

I had 2 Dwarf horse shoe crabs I purchased with a Gulf rock purchase many years ago in my 75 gallon. They were a pain as they were constantly knocking things in the tank over. They were always on top of the sand bed except for when the lights went out. They were roughly 5 inches long by 3 inches wide and lived about 6 months.