Crabs are wonderful pets

Have you ever imagined a crab as your pet?

 

Crabs are easy pets. At almost zero cost. They might look terrifying but actually not. Crab is one of the wonderful creations of mother nature. Look at the body shape and structure. Even we cannot build a robot like a crab, it is very difficult. They are very good survivors and will eat almost anything from veggies to non-vegetarian foods. They can live in water and land. Naturally, you can see them on the banks of the water ways, small streams etc. They dig burrows and build colonies underneath. Every burrow will have links with one another. So you may not catch a crab easily by your hands if it gets into it. It would have long tunnels under the burrows.

I used to go to the river side farms and will look for the crabs. I will catch them when they come out of burrows to catch the fish. They used to catch fishes to eat. By that time I used to catch them wearing a glove.

Crabs can move in any direction. Usually, they move sideways. They are stunningly fast moving, and their reflexes are unimaginable. You will wonder when you sit and watch a Crab hunting a fish. Also, crab bite will be so painful. Don't ever think of playing with a giant crab, probably you might end up losing your fingers. Giant Crabs are so powerful. Don't try this at home.

So what type of Crabs can be your pets?

Here you have to know a simple thing. Marine crabs cannot live in fresh waters. They might die, or else you need to spend some money in buying marine aquarium salt in order to have this marine crabs. 

An easy way is to have a fresh water crabs as pets, no need to spend money on buying and maintenance. Fresh water crabs are available on the river banks and farmland.  You can easily catch them to your home.

You can keep them in an aquarium tank but definitely not with your fishes. Because they will catch your fishes for the dinner.

Tank Setup:

Setting up the tank for Crabs are so simple, let me make this clear by showing some sample pictures

Beautiful Setup Especially for Crabs

Sample Crab Tank Setup

I don't think I need to explain further about setting up a tank. Instead, I will list down few things you should keep in mind before setting up the Crab Tank.

• Crab tank shouldn't be filled completely with water. It should be partially filled with sand or pebbles as crabs love to rest in the sand.
• Crabs love to eat a lot, so you should also know its feces will be more, so frequent cleaning is required.
• Also, don't keep any real aquatic plants inside. Crabs are omnivores they will eat plants as well as meat as their food.
• Keep in mind Crabs can fight with one another. It is often because of marking its territory.
• Size matters. Don't let a big crab with a small crab. Big crabs will eat the small crab when it feels hungry.
• Crabs love shade and hide themselves up for some time, so your setup should be of partial shade to the tank.

Eating Habits:

Crabs eat anything, right from bread crumbs to non-veg items. They love to eat java moss and fishes.

Give them varieties in order to keep them healthy.

Strange Habit:

"For the first time, I caught a crab home and kept him in the tank. After a couple of days, I found the crab dead. then I took him out and threw him into the trash. When I took the tank away to clean, and I found the crab alive in the tank. I was shocked to see that. I went back to the trash to see the crab which I threw away. Then I realized that it was the skin of the crab."

Crabs have the tendency to peel off the skin. This process is called molting. Crabs (and other crustaceans) cannot grow in a linear fashion like most animals. Because they have a hard outer shell (the exoskeleton) that does not grow, they must shed their shells, a process called molting. Just as we outgrow our clothing, crabs outgrow their shells.

Process of Molting

Dark colored is the live crab
and the light colored is the skin

Conclusion:

If you think of rearing a zero maintenance and zero cost pet, I think Crabs can definitely be one among them. Also, they can grow bigger and faster when provided good food. Sometimes they can even breed if they are provided a natural atmosphere. If you really love Crabs after reading this article just go ahead and grab one to your home.