Just wondering if muddies can be kept under salt water or do the have to come up to breath? I see them in aerated tanks but how long can they last in there? How long would they last under water in a normal salt water environment?
Just wondering if muddies can be kept under salt water or do the have to come up to breath? I see them in aerated tanks but how long can they last in there? How long would they last under water in a normal salt water environment?
They can stay underwater indefinatly........they have gill's.
But if you keep them submerged the water will have to be oxygenated...
If they run out of oxygen in the water the dumb bas##ards drown......they won't come up for air.....they have to be kept fairly moist when out of the water.....we keep em covered in a wet hesian bag in a fish crate .......then they will live happily for a week or so.
Dan
Even if you supply airation the ammonia build up will kill them within a few days. You would need some sort of biological filtration system or a lot of water changes to keep them long term.
In a proper setup they will last indefinitly
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Thanks guys. For some reason I always thought they had to come out of the water at some stage.
i had a couple in my tanks that i ate a few weeks ago and they were in there for about 2 weeks. Simple charcoal filter and aerator and they were fine . certainly didn't die from an ammonia buildup, did change the water once though. ate one yesterday that was in there for 5 days no probs either
ive had one now for a little over a year if you want to keep them long term a good biological filter is a must they are a huge waste producer, aslong as oxygen is present in the water the crabs can live long term though unlike animals like fish when there oxygen becomes depleted which only really occures naturally when there in there holes. the crab therefore come closer to the surface where more oxygen is present or they come out of the water, when the crab comes out of the water he still cant breath straight 02 so crabs use there gills to agitate the small amount of water they keep in there gill pocket so oxygen then diffuses into the water so it can be removed by the gills to breath, this is why crabs need to be kept moist because if the water in the gills evaporates the crab will suffocate
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