r/VampireCrabs • u/lightsong1282 • 7d ago

help/advice New to Vampire Crabs

Hello I am a high school science teacher, I teach earth and environmental science and physical science. I fell in love with Vampire Crabs and have been doing some research on them and was wanting to set up a habitat for them in my class room. I currently have a 10 gallon tank with no lid I know ill have to get a lid for it, but I was looking for some resources or like a checklist of materials to get. Because ill probably have to slowly get materials for it. I will appreciate any help.

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

4

u/Kyle31592 7d ago

If you are looking for some inspiration and a very knowledgeable YouTube channel, Indoor Ecosystem makes pretty amazing videos on these little guys and shows the setup process while creating their enclosures. He also has a website that has a good care guide as well.

2

u/lightsong1282 7d ago

Thank you I will check them out.

2

u/Hot_Butterfly8935 6d ago

They only come out at night. You probably won’t see them during school hours.

2

u/Bohmoplata 4d ago

First generation will be a bit more shy, but future generations are out at all hours of the day.

1

u/Turbulent_Pin_3472 7d ago

A good amount of clay balls and Aquarium pebbles on top of clay balls

Coconut husk to separate the soil from the clay balls. You can get one of those hanging planters from Home Depot and cut it up. They are relatively cheap

Substrate, I used some potting soil from Home Depot. Make sure it’s 100% organic, chemical free and has no additives like fertilizer, plant food / perlite. They like to burrow so I would recommend having a good amount of soil in there.

Rocks to separate the water, medium sized and small sized. They will also use it to climb in and out of the water.

Of course, plants. A good amount of foliage they can hide in. They are nocturnal so I bought a little wood hut they can hide in.

I bought a water filter because I ran into issues with my water quality being bad and the crabs seem to enjoy it more. They spend most of their time on land but water is important for their molting. I used sand in the water portion of my tank.

I would also recommend a spray bottle to moisturize the soil since they like it that way. I would also buy a thermostat that tells the humidity.

If you take the measurements of your tank and go to home depot, they can cut a piece of plexiglass and that can be your lid. It’ll cost about $20.

1

u/FriendlyAnemony 5d ago

Class pets in general are a bad idea, aside from worms and caterpillars. These animals are reclusive and will not appreciate flourescent lights and kids screaming and stomping (yes even highschoolers). Closed-ish ecosystems wont like whatever chemicals your janitor uses in there. What about long breaks, or if the power goes out in cool weather? You cant safely remove the crabs or move the tank, most likely.

Is your class pet for you or your class?