Thai micro crab care
Limnopilos naiyanetri · The Tha Chin River in Thailand, among the roots of floating water hyacinth
The Thai micro crab is a see-through gray-brown crab with a shell about 0.4 inch across and legs that span about an inch.
- Tank size
- 5 US gal or larger
- Temperature
- 70 to 82 °F (21 to 28 °C)
- Group size
- 3 or more
- Temperament
- Peaceful
- Adult size
- 1 in (leg span; the shell is about 0.4 in across)
- pH
- 6.5 to 7.3
- Hardness (GH)
- 4 to 12 dGH
- Lifespan
- 1 to 2 years
- Diet
- Detritivore
- Care level
- Moderate
In a 5 gallon: Aqueon 5½
16 3/16 × 8⅜ × 10½ in outsideHow to keep Thai micro crabs
The Thai micro crab is a see-through gray-brown crab with a shell about 0.4 inch across and legs that span about an inch. It lives fully under water and is peaceful, so a few of them suit a mature 5 gallon or larger tank with gentle flow and plenty of moss, floating-plant roots or fine-leaved plants to climb through. Fine hairs on its shell and claws gather the detritus and biofilm it eats; in a clean tank without much mulm, add a pinch of powdered shrimp food a few times a week. Keep it only with shrimp, snails and tiny, peaceful fish: a fish that can fit it in its mouth will eat it.
Diet: Detritivore: biofilm and detritus, plus powdered shrimp food and crushed flakes. Fish food types compared · how often to feed.
Where they swim: Bottom of the tank.
Thai micro crab tank mates
Share the temperature and water, and neither side eats, nips or bullies the other. Check the full group in the stocking checker.
Celestial pearl danio
1 in · 10+ gal · 72–78 °F
Pygmy corydoras
1 in · 10+ gal · 72–79 °F
Flame tetra
1 in · 10+ gal · 72–82 °F
Spotted blue-eye
1 in · 10+ gal · 75–82 °F
Ruby tetra
1 in · 10+ gal · 72–80 °F
Dwarf rasbora
1 in · 5+ gal · 75–82 °F
Coral red pencilfish
1.1 in · 10+ gal · 75–82 °F
Kerri tetra
1.1 in · 20+ gal · 75–81 °F
Keep apart
Shell-dweller cichlid: Shell-dweller cichlids eat small crabs.
Pea puffer: Pea puffers belong in a tank of their own.
Everglades pygmy sunfish: Everglades pygmy sunfish belong in a tank of their own.
Angelfish: Adult angelfish eat fish under about 2 in; Thai micro crabs grow to 1 in.
Cockatoo dwarf cichlid: Cockatoo dwarf cichlids eat small crabs.
Kribensis: Kribensis eat small crabs.
What a Thai micro crab tank needs
A tank of 5 US gallons or more (such as the 5 gallon: Aqueon 5½) with a cover, and the equipment below.
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Aquarium Co-Op Easy Flow Sponge Filter, Nano
A sponge filter gives gentle flow and cannot pull in small crabs. It runs from an air pump, with airline tubing and a check valve, all sold separately.
Fluval AC20
Rated by the maker for 5–20 US gal, which covers a 5 gallon Thai micro crab tank without being built for a far bigger one. It comes with an intake sponge, which keeps the crabs out of the filter.
Aqueon QuietFlow Internal Power Filter up to 5 gal
Rated by the maker for up to 5 US gal, which covers a 5 gallon Thai micro crab tank without being built for a far bigger one. Cover its intake with a fine sponge, sold separately, so the crabs aren’t pulled in.
hygger Precise Aquarium Heater 50W
Thai micro crabs need 70 to 82 °F; most homes run cooler, so a heater holds the temperature.
API Freshwater Master Test Kit
Tests ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH, the readings that matter most before and after adding Thai micro crabs.
Seachem Prime 100 mL
Removes chlorine and chloramine from tap water at every water change.
Fluval Edge Thermometer
Shows the water temperature at a glance, so you know it stays within 70 to 82 °F.
More choices, each with the reason it is in or out: Filters for a shrimp tank · Filters for a 5 gallon tank · Heaters for a 5 gallon tank. We don’t list fish food: any good brand of the foods under Diet will do. Plan the whole tank's equipment →
Common Thai micro crab problems
- Most losses come in the first weeks after import: acclimate them slowly, over an hour, into a tank that has run for months rather than a new one.
- They hide so well in moss and roots that keepers think they have died. Look for them at night with a dim light before you assume the worst.
- They have not been recorded breeding in aquariums, so the crabs sold are caught in the wild and you can't raise more from your own.
- Copper in medications kills crabs and shrimp; check labels.
Test the water first whenever fish look unwell: see what your readings mean, then match the symptom. For disease, a vet who treats fish can diagnose it and advise treatment.
More to compare
Sources
Name, origin, adult size, temperature and pH checked against Wikipedia: Limnopilos naiyanetri. Hardness, group size, lifespan and minimum tank size are common hobby guidance, not figures from that article. Ranges are the range the species tolerates; aim for the middle. Minimum tank sizes are for an adult group. Drawings are our own; photo credits follow.
Photo credits
Real photographs from Wikimedia Commons, resized and cropped to fit; each is used under the license named.
- Thai micro crab Sean Murray, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Celestial pearl danio Cisamarc, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Pygmy corydoras Birger A, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Flame tetra Igor Balashov (iNaturalist), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Spotted blue-eye Der Regenbogenfisch, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons
- Ruby tetra Thomas Siems, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Dwarf rasbora R.workoran, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Coral red pencilfish Brian Gratwicke, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Kerri tetra Juan R. Lascorz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Shell-dweller cichlid Richard A. Ingebrigtsen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Pea puffer Beta Mahatvaraj, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Everglades pygmy sunfish Brian Gratwicke, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Angelfish Citron, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Cockatoo dwarf cichlid William Kreijkes, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Kribensis André Karwath aka Aka, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
- Cherry shrimp TheJammingYam, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Amano shrimp Stefanie Leuker, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Ghost shrimp Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Mystery snail Gabriel Resende Veiga, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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