Vampire Crabs!

So, at the AES Show today here in the UK, I also got some Vampire Crabs! (Geosesarma sp.)

I got a 1.1 pair, and... ..and, they are breedable in captivity having no planktonic stage in their larval development! So, maybe have some babies at some point!

Here's the cutey little fellas:

The one in pic #2 looks distinctly evil.

Mr. Mordax wrote:

The one in pic #2 looks distinctly evil.

Haha, I can see her saying "My precious..."

I was wondering what these looked like! I saw a display in a pet store and I couldn't see any of them! I guess that they're nocturnal, hence the name

bjaeger wrote:

I was wondering what these looked like! I saw a display in a pet store and I couldn't see any of them! I guess that they're nocturnal, hence the name

Apparently they're pretty active during the say, so I hear!

there creepy

conrats on the newuns:)

gramps wrote:

there creepy

conrats on the newuns:)

They're cool

But thanks

They're a bit different, but intereseting none the less.

Love picture number 2!

Unfamiliar wrote:

Love picture number 2!

Reminds me of:

Nice, evil looking crabs, congrats on the aquiring of these gems.

PaperTiger wrote:

Nice, evil looking crabs, congrats on the aquiring of these gems.

Thanks They're both eating very well already on pellets and meat

what are they in? it looks like a tiny dish of water with some aquatic plants?
they require a lot more land than water and a setup similar to an emp setup really, they dont like getting anything but their legs wet and lay eggs on land which hatch out into fully formed lil' replicas of their parents. they breed often in captivity and can have up to 60 babies at a time! they live in shallow burrows under bits of wood.
where was the show you went to? i have been looking to start a colony of these for a while as they get on well in groups (though there is no problem with a pair).
how much were they?

_scorpio_ wrote:

what are they in? it looks like a tiny dish of water with some aquatic plants?
they require a lot more land than water and a setup similar to an emp setup really, they dont like getting anything but their legs wet and lay eggs on land which hatch out into fully formed lil' replicas of their parents. they breed often in captivity and can have up to 60 babies at a time! they live in shallow burrows under bits of wood.
where was the show you went to? i have been looking to start a colony of these for a while as they get on well in groups (though there is no problem with a pair).
how much were they?

Alright, alright Mr. Don't jump in all guns blazing, give me the benefit of the doubt at least please.

That was what they were bought in. They are now being kept in a hatchling tub (small at the moment, so I can monitor their feeding), which is at least 2/3rds land (eco earth), with some moss in it too, and pieces of wood which they are liking to hide under. The water being used is the water they came in, and I am leaving water to stand to remove chlorine from it. It is also partially on a heat mat to produce a 27-21 ish gradient, though, only had them 24 hours so that's still being fiddled with.

I've kept red clawed crabs successfully many years ago, amazing creatures, and am a fishkeeper at heart so understand the water quality issues and things.

Happier now?

And, the show was AES (Amateur Entomolgists Society) Show, in Kempton, yesterday. They were bought from Cornish Crispa there, who have a website, and I believe have more for sale, as well as other (non-easily breed-able in captivity) crabs. The stock they have was bought in from the Philipenes and the like, where they are bred in a captive-farmed sort of method.

They were £12 for the sexed pair.

sorry,over-reaction there lol!
i tried to add another post but it didn't work... i was trying to say do you know how to find out what species it is as that will help know about requirements.
again sorry... i just had one of those "oh my god! poor thing!" moments and didnt stop to think..
you have obviously done your research...
*goes and sits in corner*

_scorpio_ wrote:

sorry,over-reaction there lol!
i tried to add another post but it didn't work... i was trying to say do you know how to find out what species it is as that will help know about requirements.
again sorry... i just had one of those "oh my god! poor thing!" moments and didnt stop to think..
you have obviously done your research...
*goes and sits in corner*

lol, no worries. We all have our moments... specially me.

And, no, I dont know anymore than it is "Vampire Crab", Geosesarma sp. Googling it seems that pretty much they are only known as "Geosesarm sp.", and rarely by the actual species, and that they all have pretty much the same requirements unless you believe otherwise?

wouldn't know TBH but was literally just doing research on them when i came on here lol.
i have read loads of ways to keep them, most of which seem to conflict with the one before it lol. some say they never leave the water, some say they never go near it, some say they breed in marine water, some say they breed in fresh water, some say they breed on land. i reckon they bite the neck of another crab which then turns into a vampire crab...

_scorpio_ wrote:

wouldn't know TBH but was literally just doing research on them when i came on here lol.
i have read loads of ways to keep them, most of which seem to conflict with the one before it lol. some say they never leave the water, some say they never go near it, some say they breed in marine water, some say they breed in fresh water, some say they breed on land. i reckon they bite the neck of another crab which then turns into a vampire crab...

From everything I have read (googling the scientific name reduces confusion!) they need 2/3rd land, and spend more time out of water than in. And, they most certainly dont need marine water to breed, just fresh. The planktonic (larval) stage of other crabs occurs within the egg with this species, and this is why they are breed-able in captivity. the eggs hatch as fully formed (metamorphatised) little crabs, rather than larval stages.

AshMashMash wrote:

Unfamiliar wrote:

Love picture number 2!

Reminds me of:

Haha! Very good.

I imagine few people can draw up similarities between Peter Griffin and a vampire crab...

Unfamiliar wrote:

Haha! Very good.

I imagine few people can draw up similarities between Peter Griffin and a vampire crab...

You know me baby