Things You'll Need
- Aquarium, 10- to 20-gallon or larger
- Aquarium salt water
- Water filter
- Oxygen pump
- Aquarium sand/gravel
- Rocks or other aquarium decorations (optional)
- Crab food
Instructions
How to Raise Mud Crabs at Home
Set up the aquarium on a counter or stand that is within reach of an electrical outlet. Add 2 to 3 inches of gravel or sand to layer the bottom. Fill the aquarium with the salt water. The ideal mix of salt water for mud crabs is 10 to 20 parts-per-thousand (ppt) salinity, according to an article by Pinoy Entrepreneur titled "Raising Mud Crabs."
Attach the filtration system and oxygen pump to the aquarium. Pour water through the filtration system if not submerged and turn it on. Make sure the equipment works. Decorate the tank with rocks or other aquarium decorations, if desired.
Add the mud crabs. Keep the temperature in the aquarium between 37.4 and 113 degrees Fahrenheit or 3 and 45 degrees Celsius, reports the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce.
Feed the crabs items found at pet stores such as crab food, shrimp pellets or sinking tablets.
Observe your mud crabs. Pay attention to the health of your mud crabs. Watch for your crab to eventually molt and lose its outer shell or exoskeleton which will leave it looking pale and discolored as it adapts to its new shell, as explained by the Bangladesh Fisheries Information website.