Sand Fleas in an aquarium
 

Has anyone put "Sand Fleas" in there aquarium? They are small burrowing crabs from Florida, people use them to fish with. I was just curious

Phil

never heard of them, sorry

You can keep them in an aquarium but I'm sure they'd eat something. I don't know anyone who owns one so who knows what they'll do in an aquarium. They could eat stuff you want or they won't bother anything...not sure.

You can keep them in an aquarium but I'm sure they'd eat something. They are really cool to watch, though. I don't know anyone who owns one so who knows what they'll do in an aquarium. They could eat stuff you want or they won't bother anything...not sure.

Ooops posted twice...Sorry

i think they are filter feeders

they're called mole crabs, and we've got them here in CA, they inhabit most beaches, the ones i get can be around 2 inches

i've kept them in a 24 gallon nano cube with no problems (except for the mantis shrimp! :D) the current of the nano cube allows them to filter feed, and the tank was cycled so i think they had plankton and things floating around to snack on, but adding maybe marine snow occasionally or some brine shrimp might not be a bad idea!

my blue lobster and peacock mantis shrimp love them! the lobster molted twice in one month due to his diet! but be careful if you live in a polluted area, then these little guys may have diseases in them!

PS: If you live in CA don't bother trying to get the big ones until the summer/spring time, otherwise they're smaller than 1 cm during the winter, probably same in Florida, trust me, i've been doing this since i was 5 yrs old! :)

I didn't know they were filter feeders. Cool!!! hahaha.

I used them as bait once in florida when my family was visiting my auant & Uncle. They were about an inch long. Thanks for the replies.

yup they're awesome fishing bait!

are you gonna try them in your tank?

oops, almost forgot! apparently in hawaii they eat portuguese man o war tentacles or other carcasses that wash up on the beach also! but i've never seen it, only what i read!

I'm thinking that if I can get some up here to MN when I get my aquarium established, I'm going to do that. They're kinda cute looking, and a bit differant.

Thanks everyone

I love using sand crabs for bait with catching stripped bass.... hmm......

look these up:
Emerita analoga
Emerita benedicti
Emerita brasiliensis
Emerita portoricensis
Emerita talpoida