How to Build a Vampire Crab Enclosure | BigAlsPets.com

Vampire crabs are a very interesting, relatively new species of freshwater crab that are amphibious and appreciate time on land. They are omnivorous eating both live and prepared meaty foods, along with some plant based foods. All around quite hardy and easy to care for! Today I am going to show you how to set up a simple enclosure to keep your Vampire crabs happy so they don’t jump out and suck your blood!

For a small group of 3 to 6 crabs, a tank between 10 and 15 gallons works well. We are going to create an enclosure with approximately 50% land and 50% water so the crabs can live their amphibious lives however they so choose; no judgments here.

I have here a 12 gallon Seapora tank made with ultra-awesome high clarity glass and it is roughly 24 x 12 x 15 inches which will provide lots of room for both the terrestrial and aquatic sections.

To build the land up without it just sloshing over to the wet side of the aquarium, I am going to use a filter foam block and cut it to size so it fits snugly in the tank. The height of the block needs to be only a little bit taller than the height of the land you are creating for the terrestrial side, since it is going to act as a barrier to keep it in place while still allowing water to pass through.

Once in place, the next step is to create a drainage layer so that your land doesn’t get soppy and turn into mud. Hydro balls work really well for this and also provide a place for beneficial bacteria to grow and help with biological processes.
Make sure to put enough Hydro balls to achieve the same depth as the maximum water height you want in the enclosure so that the water doesn’t touch the substrate layer.

Next some screen mesh over the balls will prevent your substrate from just falling through the balls.

And now lets get some fancy dirt in there! Reptisoil is ideal since it is soft enough for the crabs to excavate, has good drainage properties, and also works well for live plants which we MAY just want to put in there too *wink*.

Now that the land is made, we want to create a comfortable and attractive transition from the water side to the land. For this you can use your choice of aquarium safe rocks or stone. This will also help to keep that foam block in place.

Once the rock is in place it is time to add some sand to the aquatic side of the enclosure. Sand is ideal since the crabs prefer this type of substrate.

To add even more surface area and give the enclosure some extra levels and barriers to help detour any territorial aggression, I am going to add driftwood! Not to mention it just plain looks great.

With the hardscape done, we can move on to plants! You don’t have to use live plants, but it does make for an attractive enclosure and provides the added benefit of reducing nutrient buildup by using the crab’s waste to grow.

You can also added mosses, dry or live, to both the land and the watery part of the habitat. The crabs will often lay their eggs in moss when they are ready to hatch, so having moss available is ideal.

For a more rugged natural look, you can add leaf litter and some seed pods or cork bark bits as finishing touches!

Water movement and heat are ideal, so adding a small heater to keep the temp between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and a small water pump or internal filter to keep that water a’move’n will make sure your Vampires are comfy cozy.

***DISCLAIMER: The purpose and content of this video is to provide general information regarding the animals, the products and their applications as presented in the video. Big Al's Aquarium Services, Big Al's Aquarium Supercentres and its officers, directors, employees and agents disclaim all express or implied warranties, in any way, related to the products and their application as presented in this video, make no representation or warranty regarding the products and the application as presented in this video and shall not be liable for any direct or indirect losses or damages of any type, including but not limited to punitive damages, or from personal injury or death resulting from or in any manner related to the video, and the products in and contents of the video. The viewer expressly agrees that Big Al's Aquarium Services and Big Al's Aquarium Supercentres and its officers, directors, employees and agents shall not be liable for any damages or losses related to the products in and content of the video and hereby agrees to hold the foregoing harmless from any such losses or damages.

[yungpilaf]

I think you might have the first actual informative video ever on vampirecrabs. I've been searching for years!

[gmardog]

AMAZING!! These little crabs seem like they could be my favorite.

[AngellusBlack]

Love it! Some years ago I tried creating a setup for them but I couldn't figure out how to properly separate the land/drainage from the water and it became a mess. I ended up converting it into a setup for dart frogs. The tank I used is too small for frogs though... I think I might give it another try when i get some free time. These crabs are cute/cool!

[ianjohnson]

Should you replace everything with fresh new soil, substrate, etc... after a certain amount of time. If so, how often?

[honeybun]

Thank you for making a video of a realistic set up that looks good, & simple enough to actually make!!

[robertgay]

Hey i just thought of getting these little guys. I have a 45g tank i believe. would it be reasonable to make 2 land areas on either side with water in the middle? Also where could i find drift wood and live moss?

[natsukikanzaki]

How do you maintain this? Can you make a video for that please?

[JRPHL]

Cool set-up and interesting little critters. Thanks for sharing.

[HighImNick]

Great video and good quality. I plan on upgrading my vampire crabs now!

[dakotadaroza]

Please have this guy make more videos he's awesome!! LOL

[TaliBiev]

I have a question, yes ! I'd be interested in having those adorable crabs, but I don't really want to end up with lots of little babies ; I wouldn't know what to do with them. So, is it okay to have only males or only females ?

[metalizer]

What’s the name of the water plant you used? Can’t find it anywhere

[MrGawellus]

I've followed the tutorial and I built something similar. The problem is, when I've got babies crabs, they are escaping by silicon in aquarium narrows. I have a top cover but somehow they passed it through. How to prevent those lil bastards from climbing narrows?

[mrunknown]

I wanna build an enclosure for about 8 vampire crabs but I also want to know if they will get along well with other animals I want to also have in the enclosure such as fresh water shrimp, clams, and about 2 coy fish. Is that reasonable? Also how often do u have to change the water and do u ever have to replace the foam block?

[phoebebrooks]

Thank you for responding I'm new at this and your videos breaks it down for me where I can understand..., I love them thanks again

[petemobo]

Where did you get the foam filter block? The link that was provided for one sends me to a page that has a block with two big holes in the middle of the foam.

[dr.albertvonfranzphdofbiol]

Does your brampton site have any? There so

[choohse]

Hi T, can I add ferns into the little guy's enclosure ?

[kanashii]

what kind of water should you use? and how do you manage the water to make sure its good and clean for the crabs?

[gorpybb]

Won't the filter foam barrier get nasty over time with the water flowing through it?