Today we are going to talk about american crab. It is a red crab that is from the river and originally from the United States, hence its name. It can be seen on other continents where it is mostly known as an invasive species. In our country it is known as the American crab and we also have it in our habitats.
In this article we are going to detail everything about the biology, characteristics and ways of life of the American crab.
Key features
It is a type of crab that lives in not very cold waters. This means that it lives in rivers but with calm waters, generally. It is considered one of the species with the greatest capacity for adaptation to different ecosystems. It grows fairly quickly in seasonal waters and withstands the hottest and driest times of the year for up to 4 months. In dimensions we can see it with 12 centimeters in length and about 50 grams of weight only.
This crab not only lives in fresh waters, but we can find it in some waters with a certain degree of salt. By not tolerating these waters too much, they do not remain in them for a long time. Life expectancy extends for at least 5 years if conditions are good enough. It feeds on both vegetables and other animals.
American crab care
This type of crab can be kept as a pet. To have it at home you must know some of the main guidelines of its care so that it is healthy at all times. They eat a lot of fruit, vegetables, and different types of meat. So that they can drink water, you need to place a sponge with water and they will absorb as much water as possible. From time to time, it is convenient to soak them in fresh water and that is at room temperature to improve their conditions.
The good thing about the American crab is that it can withstand waters with different temperatures, whether they are high or low temperatures. If you are going to have it at home, you will have to have a terrarium and you can make it a kind of cave with leaves and sticks, so that they can get in whenever they want and feel totally protected.
To differentiate between male and female crabs, you have to look at the size of the claws. On the one hand, to know which is the male, you can see that one of the clamps is larger than the other. But nevertheless, the females have the two claws of the same size. If you want to make a habitat that is comfortable for them, you will need a fish tank or terrarium. It should be something large so that you have plenty of room to move around.
You can buy a container to place his cave in the corner and also have another corner covered with water that he can get into. Place plants as if the crab were in its natural habitat. You can also buy him a log and put it near his habitat. So you can put a hole under it so that it can get dirt and it can get in.
Next to the water container you can place a food cap so that things can be closer together and not everything is scattered. The more sand I have, it is better so that the crab can feel in its natural habitat. If you add plants and decorate everything as close to a natural habitat, the better. And it is that these crabs, although they adapt easily to new environments, always do better if these environments are fully adapted to the natural part.
American crab diet
These fish can feed on both plants and animals. Within the animals it feeds on both invertebrate animals and other fish. Vegetables are also eaten in large quantities. You can observe a tendency to cannibalism or more pulling at carrion. And we can see an American crab eating another of the same species, as long as this specimen is dead or dying. It can also be seen eating some carcasses of other species if there is little food available.
This fact that it is a scavenger makes it a key part of the general cleaning of all ecosystems. To differentiate it from other crabs, you just have to look at a morphology that is more elongated. This shape makes them look like lubricants and, like all other crabs, they have the ability to shed the exoskeleton.
Reproduction
We are going to talk about the reproduction process of the American crab. This is one of the questions that many people ask when seeing this morphology of crabs. There are many questions that are asked about how both the male and the female do the sexual act. The answer is pretty straightforward. The male, in order to copulate with the female, has to be larger, since they have to hold the female and position her belly down.
In order to carry out the pregnancy, the males locate the sperm of the females. Inside it, the sperm are capable of holding out for many days until the right time comes for the female to be in her fertile days. The female can lay 700 eggs, but it only depends on the size of both the male and the female. Once it has laid the eggs, they can have about 20-30 days until the moment of hatching.
Behavior
These crabs are quite good at communicating with each other. It is one of the best inter-species communications. To be able to talk to each other, they move the clamps a lot, which makes it quite a hilarious act. When you see that an American crab is moving its claws, it is communicating with another of the same species.
Another characteristic they have in their behavior is that they work quite well as a team both to search for food and to support families. They are good swimmers and they do it from side to side.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about the American crab and its characteristics.