horseshoe crabs

[saltnmyeye]

does anyone know if horseshoe crabs, if bought small and put in a 55 gallon tank if they will stay small or outgrow the tank. i have only found one place on the net that sells them, but cant get an answer either way.

 

[Mikef1]

I got some a long time ago and they dont out grow the tank but the make a mess. They get sand all over your rocks and knock things over.

 

[Anonymous]

they stir up the sand, and im not sure how "reef" compatible they are either...might wanna look into that...

 

[Johnsteph10]

...plus they have a tendency to hide for long periods of time...and then they might die and you'll never know. Not a good idea - especially in addition to what the others have said..

better left in the ocean!

John

 

[Juck]

I saw some on the beach in NC last year that were huge,, like over a foot across the shell. I wouldn't want one of those crashing around my reef!

 

[saltnmyeye]

thanks for the input as always, better stray away from that one. 8O

 

[teevee]

Do avoid them. There's some indication that they are threatened in their natural habitat, they're a temperate water animal, they dig, they grow very large (as noted, over a foot in width, if they survive that long at all) and they eat sand bed fauna. Very much best left in the ocean.