# Fiddler Crab Habitat at Home



## ChefRobb (Jan 8, 2016)

As you guys know I've been fishing with fiddlers a lot this Summer. The cost of buying fiddlers all the time can be a bit daunting, but the inconvenience of having to catch them and keep them is a problem too. So I have a solution which I'll share with you guys; I've built a fiddler crab habitat in my garage for keeping live fiddlers until I need them. In the past when I had fiddlers left over from a trip, if I didn't give them away I would freeze them for future use. That will be more important in the cool months when the local bait shops often don't have fiddlers available. The benefits of doing this go beyond simply having a ready supply of fiddlers. Granted, I do still have to catch them myself, but now I can be more selective in hunting them and as a result I have larger crabs than I usually get when I buy them from the bait store. All you need to do this is a place with limited direct sunlight where you can set up your habitat, and nearby power for a water filter. 

Here's what you need to build one like mine;
1) A plastic utility tub with steep sides. You can get them at Home Depot or Lowes in the area where bagged concrete mixes are. I took the large size. ($13.00)
2) Dry Beach sand... enough to cover 2" of the bottom of your tub
3) Water from the ocean or inlet..... about 5 gallons
4) Submersible water filter. You can get them at Walmart for about $10.00

-Dump in the sand to get to the 2" depth, but then scrape the sand all to 1/2 of the container so that your habitat is half sand and half water.
-Pour in enough ocean water to cover the intake on your filter. NEVER use tap water. It will kill the crabs.
-Start your water filter. You may have to prime it to get it started. Run it 24-7. The water has to be oxygenated both so that they can submerse themselves and so that it doesn't stink.
-Add your crabs. Unlike many other crabs, fiddlers like to eat decayed vegetation, so if you're going to keep them for a while throw a wilted romaine lettuce leaf or some decayed spartina to munch on. DON'T mix in other types of crabs you may find in the marsh like box crabs or blue crabs - they think of fiddlers as food!
-Remove dead crabs as soon as you find them. Don't put shrimp or fish in the water.....keep it for fiddlers only.
-I'll keep you guys posted on how this works.... By the way.....there's about 60 crabs in there now. I estimate I could easily manage 2 or 3 times that many, but overcrowding will cause a high mortality rate, so I probably won't go over a hundred at a time.


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## SloppyTilapia (Oct 4, 2013)

Looks like an innovative project you got there.......lettuce know how they are doing after a week or two for sure!


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## surfmom (Nov 3, 2012)

I've wondered about doing something similar for sand fleas..any ideas?


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## ChefRobb (Jan 8, 2016)

surfmom said:


> I've wondered about doing something similar for sand fleas..any ideas?


Have you ever wondered about how bait shops can sell you live sand fleas? They're doing the same thing. The thing is that proper aeration of the water in their habitat is even more critical than for fiddlers. They quickly "drown" in water that's not aerated. Also, unlike fiddlers, sand fleas are filter feeders, so they won't live very long in a habitat like this due to lack of food. As a holdover for a few days up to a couple of weeks I think a habitat like mine will work for you.


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## BubbaHoTep (May 26, 2008)

I put the link to this thread on a sand fleas thread on the Open Forum a few days ago, but I'll put it here as well. 
http://www.pierandsurf.com/fishing-forum/showthread.php?88175-sand-fleas-101
I had linked it to a salting baits thread in the bible a few years ago (even though it's not really about "salting"), and I know some folks have gotten some good mileage out of it.
BTW, Chef, Great Thread! Thanks for sharing.


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## ChefRobb (Jan 8, 2016)

Update: It's been 5 days since I created my habitat. They didn't respond all that well to the leaf of lettuce I left for them, so when I went fishing at the jetty on Saturday I picked up a clump of "barnacles" with lots of algae "grass" attached. The crabs love it. They've already stripped about half of the algae off of the clump. The filter has totally clarified the marsh water I started with, so unless I add more the mussels won't have anything to feed on and will have to be replaced before they die and taint the water. Here's a pic .....
Meanwhile, the crabs I brought back from the jetty went into the habitat and only one died.....the rest are healthy and active. This idea looks like it's really panning out.


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## SloppyTilapia (Oct 4, 2013)

That's pretty cool.....learning by trial and error and making things easier for yourself in the process. Do you have to worry about cleaning out crab poop?


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## ChefRobb (Jan 8, 2016)

SloppyTilapia said:


> That's pretty cool.....learning by trial and error and making things easier for yourself in the process. Do you have to worry about cleaning out crab poop?


Not really. Between the filter and the fact that I'm not giving them a lot of food they aren't overwhelming the system.


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## ChefRobb (Jan 8, 2016)

Well, it's been almost 3 weeks since I built my "crabitat", and I'm really happy with the results. Some of my crabs (small ones) are from the original stocking, and are doing just fine. Putting clumps of mussels with lots of algae and seaweed growing on them and dropping in a few small lettuce leaves now and then seems to work quite well for feeding them. You guys should think about this.....


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## Anchorite (Apr 27, 2016)

Appreciate the update. Been thinking about trying fiddlers more to target some other species. Pain catching them when it's time to go fish and the tide is wrong. Bonus if they stay alive in the garage.


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## jay bird1138 (Aug 7, 2017)

Maybe not the right thread for this but I tried them and I couldn't catch anything. I've heard a lot of people both here and other people I've talked to say that you will catch so many sheepshead with fiddlers... haven't been able to catch any. I am pretty dang sure I was throwing them in the right spot. I'm using a generic high low rig I think it's called, is that ok?


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## ChefRobb (Jan 8, 2016)

jay bird1138 said:


> Maybe not the right thread for this but I tried them and I couldn't catch anything. I've heard a lot of people both here and other people I've talked to say that you will catch so many sheepshead with fiddlers... haven't been able to catch any. I am pretty dang sure I was throwing them in the right spot. I'm using a generic high low rig I think it's called, is that ok?


First.... I get a lot more red and black drum than I do sheepies. Second, I hand tie my rigs to limit the amount of hardware....it seems to make a difference. Third, I use a Carolina Rig and a graphite rod for sensitivity. So where have you tried fishing?


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