Vampire crab (Geosesarma sp) Viv construction

I have recently aquired a handfull of Vampire crabs and a 20gal aquarium to house them in. After lots of thought I decided to go with a small water section (no water feature) and mostly land.
First thing I did was cut and siliconed a piece of glass for the water section

While waiting for that to dry I constructed the screen vent. I will also use a red sea max fan to keep the glass fog free.
Here is the frame assembled (sorry no pic of me struggling with a dull hacksaw)

Gasket material removed

Cut piece of screen to lay over frame

Place gasket material back into place making sure screen is good and tight

Trim off excess screen material

Quick and easy as it sounds.
Now that the silicone has dried for ...well less than two days but shhh. It is time to hydrotest. I will leave this section full of water until I get home from work. If it holds then the remainder of the tank can be completed.

Heres a shot of one of the anxious future inhabitants

Ok, almost done!
Water section passed the hydrotest. Coated the glass with silicone and black sand. That way it doesn't slip off.


Hydroton

substraight

Clay background


Since its my sons tank I insisted that he help me do the background....he doesn't like to get dirty.

I am contemplating a few tiny fish for the water section...maybe tetras or something.

That is sweet! I've seen those for sale on a website before, but they were always out of stock. Awesome find!


So I want to know more about the kitty litter background, does it make fake rock? Is it soggy in a viv?



I would recommend micro rasboras like (bororas merah or briggitae) for that small of a water volume. They are carp relatives, so they're fairly hardy and are much more petite than tetras are, but still colorful.

Wow!!!! That's awesome!!!! Looks great! Those little guys are cool looking.

they look amazing! group shot needed.

I will try to get a group shot once they are all out and comfortable. They tend to set up their own mini territorys withing the enclosure even though they are a social species.

Spiny, the clay backgrounds are fun because you can sculpt them. You have to use dr elseys brand kitty litter. It is all natural clay with no aditives or scents. Add water, peat and any other organic mater you desire and kneed until a workable clay concistancy. squeez out excess water before applying to the background. I don't think it would look good as a fake rock or hold up very well. It stays fairly moist like the clay walls of a river bank but will hold its shape as long as you don't over water it. Once organic matter starts to take hold like roots and stuff it will really be strong. If it dries out too much it will crack and fall off the wall.

awww wtf! It held water all day while I was at work hyrdotesting...I came down stairs this morning and half the freaking water has drained out

Interesting.....I tried using sculpting clay a while ago, but that was just a disaster. Kitty litter seems a lot more workable. Like the sand ramp too, that was a clever way to make a beach.

so are you going to have to rip it all down to fix it?

You got it looking great!

What do those little mean looking things eat?

Not going to tear it apart...will just fill the whole damn thing until I get my water level where I want it... ohh well. Will just add a lot to the weight on a unsupported bar ledge.

They are omnivours feeding on detritus and opportunistic hunters. They will eat bugs, small fish, fish flakes...pretty much anything.

wow that's cool. Can't wait to see some pics with them in action.

Sorry about the tank. VERY cool crab though!!

Frog guys always make the best vivariums, hands down. Looks incredible man!

sorry bout the little leak.....But it looks amazing, you're an artist! cool crabs!

Your getting very good at the scaping thing D Looks easy enough to do too.

Originally Posted by chris&barb

Your getting very good at the scaping thing D Looks easy enough to do too.

yeah - when are ya gonna make me one of these

everytime I see one of your vivs I want one of my own - until I realize keeping plants alive like that is more difficult than it looks

na, just add light and water. Easy as pie

Those guys look bad ass! Nice set up too by the way!