The Thai Micro Crab is one of our favorite amphibian critters of all time! They’re genuinely under the radar, yet we prescribe them to different aquarists all the time.
Here’s the reason:
This is one of the most low-support crab species you can possess. Yet, they can flourish in a wide scope of conditions that most aquarists know about.
They additionally look perfect! These small animals are very similar to most of the species you see different aquarists own. They seem as though they’re from another planet!
This guide will encourage you everything you need to think about Thai Micro Crab care and the species all in all. We guarantee you’ll be thinking about getting some when you’re done perusing!
Species Summary
Ideal for nano tanks and small living spaces, the Thai Micro Crab (Limnopilos naiyanetri) genuinely satisfies its name. These scavengers are some of the smallest that you can get! Yet, they’re very accommodating and can be a delight to look at as they search for food.
These freshwater crabs must be found in one spot on the planet. Therefore, they’re endemic to a particular waterway in Thailand, consequently their name. The Thai Micro Crab is sometimes alluded to as the Thai Micro Spider Crab or False Spider Crab.
The little critters are generally new to the aquarist network, having been acquainted with the market in 2008. Notwithstanding, that hasn’t halted fish-guardians from buying them by the thousand!
There are as yet many things obscure about this species. But, fortunately, fundamental care necessities have, for some time, been set up.
Life expectancy
The typical Thai Micro Crab life expectancy is around one and a half years when solid. These little animals don’t live very long at all.
It merits calling attention that this normal is for crabs being kept in an all-around looked after climate. So try not to get this species figuring you can surpass this by giving them extraordinary care.
Creator Note: Because these animals are so small, they are profoundly defenseless to water conditions changes. To keep them sound and amplify their life expectancy, you should be careful about keeping up your tank.
Appearance
If you’re sufficiently fortunate to get a nearby perspective on the Thai Micro Crab, you may be amazed to find that they are very like their bigger partners. They have around carapace, which is the entire body of the crab.
Typically, these crabs are silvery-dark in shading. However, the legs may take on a hotter earthy colored tone. You may likewise observe some slight straightforwardness in their legs.
These crabs are regularly erroneously alluded to as insect crabs, and it’s not hard to perceive any reason why.
Their ten legs are very since quite a while ago contrasted with the remainder of the body. When completely spread, their size increments essentially.
In any case, most of their time is gone through with the legs tucked under the body. One intriguing thing about Thai Micro Crabs is the fibers developing from their legs and paws.
These hairs are intended to catch food particles in the water. They can take hold of tiny bites, which helps hugely when they’re searching for food.
Generally, there is not a size contrast between guys and females. However, you can undoubtedly distinguish females because of their adjusted bodies. Guys will, in general, have limited and somewhat pointy carapaces.
Normal Size
The normal size of a Thai Micro Crab is just 0.4 inches! This is the distance across their carapace, which is the way you measure the size of crabs.
As should be obvious, these critters are very small. Notwithstanding. The size of their legs can cause them to seem somewhat greater.
Despite this, it can at present be difficult to find them in your tank from the outset (you’ll improve with training). The slender and cloudy nature of the legs doesn’t do a lot to improve deceivability.
Thai Micro Crab Care
Thai Micro Crab care is easy. One of the most compelling motivations for this species has become so well known that they can flourish in very typical and low-support tank conditions. Dislike other crab species that may require calibrated temperatures or salty water.
Thai Micro Crabs can adjust very well and aren’t particular about boundaries. As a result, these animals are helpless to significant changes in water quality. The key is to keep their tanks stable while furnishing them with a top-notch wellspring of food.
Tank Size
Beginning with the tank itself, these crabs needn’t bother with a huge load of the room. You can keep a gathering in a moderately small tank at not exactly a large portion of an inch in size.
These crabs are incredible for nano tanks that can hold in any event 5 gallons. A small gathering of five or six crabs will have no issue flourishing in a tank that small.
In any case, Thai Micro Crabs will need a somewhat greater tank if you plan on keeping them with fish (more on that in a piece).
Creator Note: One pleasant thing about this species is that they’re completely oceanic. There’s no need to stress over making a lump of land. They will spend their whole lives underneath the outside of the water.
Water Parameters
Similarly, as with any oceanic animal, the ideal approach to keep these crabs sound is to recreate their common habitat, however much as could be expected. This all beginnings with the water. Fortunately, that is not hard to do.
These crabs originate from a solitary waterway in Thailand. The tropical climate is moderately simple to imitate in a freshwater tank. All you need is hotter waters and a fair pH balance.
Whenever you have set up the tank, give it some time to go through before including the crabs. Thai Micro Crabs are delicate to smelling salts and nitrate levels. Synthetics can likewise influence them in the water.
Giving the tank some time to develop will guarantee that it’s sheltered and prepared for these crabs.
Adhere to these water boundaries, and your Thai Micro Crabs ought to have no remaining issue sound.
- Water Temperature: 72°F to 82°F (somewhere in the center of this reach is ideal)
- pH Levels: 6.5 to 8.0
- Water Hardness: 6 to 15 dKH
It’s likewise essential to test the water routinely (especially right off the bat). Water changes every couple of weeks is foremost, as well.
What To Put In Their Tank
Concerning improvements, a characteristic arrangement is, in every case, better.
While you could utilize a plastic tank frill, Thai Micro Crabs need some genuine natural to remain sound. These crabs spend most of their day scrounging for food, which needs to originate from natural live plants.
Thick vegetation is significant. The stream that Thai Micro Crabs originate from is very thick. As a rule, the crabs can be discovered living in the underlying foundations of those plants.
Embellish your tank with skimming plants. You can evaluate Java Moss, Duckweed, Water lettuce, and Anubias. Present, however, many plants would be prudent. They are not exclusively a wellspring of food, yet the plants will likewise go about as asylum.
You can supplement the plants with common embellishing things like driftwood and rocks. Those are incredible spots for green aquarium growth to collect, which Thai Micro Crabs likewise eat.
To keep the tank cycled and fit as a fiddle, you will need a strong filtration framework. Nonetheless, these small crabs are very defenseless against solid flows and pull delta tubes!
Ensure that you’re using froth covers for the cylinders to guarantee that your crabs aren’t sucked through the channel.
Normal Possible Diseases of Thai Micro Crab
Very little is thought about infections that Thai Micro Crabs can experience the ill effects of. At present, there aren’t any illnesses that are explicit to the infection.
They can experience the ill effects of all the safe bacterial and contagious diseases that other freshwater crab’s insight.
The most well-known reason for any sickness with crabs is broad body pressure. Stress is legitimately associated with the nature of the water. However long you keep up water conditions, you ought to have no issue keeping the crabs solid.
Thai Micro Crabs shed simply like any other crab. They shed their carapace as they get bigger, deserting an empty shell. This is typical and sound.
Food and Diet
Thai Micro Crabs are regular omnivores. As we mentioned before, they will typically rummage for food for the day. Utilizing those hairs on their legs and paws, the crabs catch microorganisms and food particles drifting all through the water.
You may likewise observe the crabs benefiting from plant debris and green growth.
While they can get a ton of their everyday sustenance through searching, you need to give day-by-day suppers, as well. A well-known decision for aquarists is powdered plant-based shrimp food.
You can likewise take a stab at sinking green growth wafers or powdered nourishments that are small enough for the shrimp to devour.
Some protein is significant for this species also. You’ll need to flexibly some abundant life or solidified food, for example, mosquito hatchlings.
Conduct and Temperament
Thai Micro Crabs are very accommodating and nice. However, they’re bashful commonly and will regularly spend most of the day tucked away among plants and characteristic stylistic layout.
They don’t give any indication of aggression towards different animals. This incorporates tank mates of similar species!
This species is very irregular concerning action as well. So try not to be amazed if you don’t see much development from your Thai Micro Crabs aimlessly focuses for the day.
These shellfish have been known to sit still for a few hours. So if you can’t see them at all, they are likely stowing away.
Stowing away is very typical for these crabs. It’s more normal around shedding time. Unfortunately, at the point when they shed, Thai Micro Crabs are staggeringly defenseless against assault since it requires some investment for their new shells to solidify.
Tank Mates for Thai Micro Crab
There is some great contemplation to make when picking tank mates for the Thai Micro Crab. They do fine with other fish and won’t show any signs of aggression.
Be that as it may, it’s not aggression from the crabs you need to stress over.
These critters are the ideal nibbling size for huge and medium-sized fish. They will be eaten up immediately by any fish that is greater than they are. They should just be kept with small tranquil species.
Keep in mind; these crabs are virtually exposed. Therefore, you ought to never face challenges and house them with bigger fish that could eat them.
It’s additionally essential to keep numerous Thai Micro Crabs together. They do very well in gatherings of five or six. The crabs will feel more certain and usually become a smidgen more dynamic within sight of others.
Here are some acceptable tank mates to consider:
- Cherry Shrimp
- Kuhli Loach
- Bloodfin Tetra
- Cherry Barb
- Dwarf Corydoras
- Coal Tetra
- Most Snails
- Harlequin Rasbora
- Neon Tetra
Creator Note: Many aquarists approach the capacity for Thai Micro Crabs to be kept with Betta fish. The appropriate response isn’t very clear since some aquarists had accomplishments with this matching and others.
Comprehend that there will be a component of danger if you need to give this a shot. We don’t believe it’s justified, despite any trouble.
Thai Micro Crabs Breeding
The process of breeding and growth has not been tricky, but the offspring of Thai micro crabs do not survive after hatching. Captivity cannot replicate something that isn’t known in nature. So what is it that the Thai Chin River has that your aquarium doesn’t? It could be the water temperature, pH or hardness, current, and/or something else.
Many breeders are insecure that the aquarium does not contain a specific nutrient. Like other crabs, they deposit eggs on the ground in their natural habitat. The Thai micro crab, like other aquatic crabs, has up to 200 eggs in her abdomen.
A light beacon is essential for baby Thai micro-crabs to communicate with. Also, to help the babies navigate, lighting is vital if you want to breed them (although this is not recommended until more information becomes available about increasing the survival rate).
The Process of Thai Micro Crab Breeding:
Fertilization takes place internally. The male crab transfers sperm to the female. The female stores up to 200 eggs in her abdomen after fertilization (pleon). On average, Thai micro crabs hatch about 70 larvae.
Interestingly, the female Thai micro crab does not release the larvae into her tank environment after hatching. Instead, she holds the eggs in her pleon until they hatch, after which she releases them into the water. The gestation period can last several weeks.
The male crabs will eat the baby Thai micro crabs that have been released prematurely from their mother’s pleon. The baby crabs cannot pass through the salty or seawater phase because they are released later in their development.
Differences Between Male and Female Thai Micro Crabs:
The Thai micro crabs are small, making it hard to tell the difference between males from females. They are also weak and will not tolerate physical examination.
If you use a magnifying lens and can place the Thai micro crabs so that you can see & notice a change in the flap on the lower side. Males have a tapered bottom flap, while females have a wider flap. It’s almost impossible to tell the differences, except when you look at a female carrying a bunch of eggs or larvae.
