Horseshoe crab help

[fishyfreek]

My tank just finished cycling and today I stopped by PetCo (I know not the best place to buy fish) because its close to my house. Well Im new and I should've done some research but I was talked into it and bought the horseshoe on impluse now its seems he shouldnt be held in captivity!SHould I take him back???

 

[mike90]

im not sure about the crab question but during your cycling process did you get any brown algae on your sand?? im having that problem now.

 

[Rikko]

Well, first thing to do is get rid of it. They get two feet long and will knock over everything in your tank. They generally need a very wide open sandbed that they can burrow and kick around in. A terrible, terrible aquarium candidate. One guy (I think on this site) said he used to pull them out of the water (southern USA) and they were like 3 feet long. As far as care goes, they aren't terribly demanding. Just google horseshoe crab and you'll find plenty (as well as more people saying how terrible they are as aquarium candidates).

They are cool looking, though, I give them that much.

btw mike90 - sounds like you either have a cyano or diatom bloom.. Pretty common in a new tank. It will eventually go away if you can keep your water parameters good (then it'll starve itself away, basically). The most common tips for getting rid of it fast are water changes (dilute any pollutants in the water that fuel its growth), better protein skimming (again, removing pollutants/nutrients that fuel it), and better water movement towards the bottom of the tank. Most tank bottoms are pretty still so it's a great place for that crap to grow - try placing a powerhead about halfway down the glass. I have pretty vigorous water movement in my tank and only have a very small area where it ever forms... And I don't use a protein skimmer or change my water nearly enough.

 

[Anonymous]

the horseshoe crab will eat any critter in your sand bed, make it as barren as .... sand. Get rid of it.

 

[fishyfreek]

Im going to get rid of him I feel bad though
mike, yeah I got brown algae all over my sand and live rock but its cleared up pretty well