Building a Huge Vampire Crab Ecosystem Paludarium (Step by Step)
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- čas přidán 28. 06. 2024
- In this video I build a huge bioactive ecosystem for Vampire Crabs. Below you will find everything I used in the project if you would like to create something similar yourself.
❤️Geosesarma Vampire Crab Species Posters Now Available: www.etsy.com/shop/IndoorEcosy...
TANK: 100x35x30cm (Custom Made)
LIGHT: SUNSUN ADP-900J 98-104cm
HEATER: 28x28cm 14w generic heating mat
PUMP: SunSun JP-230G
ROCKS: Grey Stone
WOOD: Alder Tree Roots
PLANTS
Fern Moss
Hypnum Moss
Christmas Moss
Java Moss
Boston Fern
Rabbit Foot Fern,
Ficus Pumila
Creeping Jenny
🏷️VAMPIRE CRAB BEGINNER TANK ITEM LIST🏷️
🏷️Tank for 3 Crabs: amzn.to/48UPSQf (9Gal)
🏷️Light: amzn.to/3Sin2T0 (12”-16”)
🏷️Tank for 5 Crabs: amzn.to/3SCxPsn (15Gal)
🏷️Light:amzn.to/3OoQBBj (18”-24”)
🏷️Clay Balls (Leca): amzn.to/47ZUeEv
🏷️Weed Matting: amzn.to/3HGw6fB
🏷️HEATING
🏷️Option 1: Heat Mat: amzn.to/3uhlalp
🏷️Option 2: Nano Heater: amzn.to/49eEOgF
🏷️Filter/Pump Optional: amzn.to/3w2M3de
❗Don’t forget a lid: Cheap Plexi glass works well
❗Don’t forget a levelling mat under your tank
❤️SUPPORT: ko-fi.com/indoorecosystem
🟨MORE CONTENT
➤ Vampire Crab Paludarium builds: • VAMPIRE CRAB ECOSYSTEMS
➤Care Guides and Tips: • VAMPIRE CRAB: CARE GUIDES
🟨SOCIALS - Come and say hi!
Instagram: / indoor_ecosystem
Facebook: / indoorecosystem
TikTok: / jashiko_original
🟨CAMERA & SOFTWARE
Sony ZV-E10 amzn.to/3OqlTaY
Sony 35mm f1.8 OSS: amzn.to/3umLkDo
Sigma 17-50mm: amzn.to/3HKbF15
Sigma 8-16mm: amzn.to/3Uu3mhO
Gimbal: Zhiyun Crane M2S: amzn.to/4buuX8l
Software: Davinci Resolve
🟨MUSIC
share.epidemicsound.com/80kz3s
🟨CHAPTERS
Cinematic Intro: 0:00 - 2:07
Building the Paludarium: 2:08 - 9:40
Tank Maintenance: 9:41 - 11:09
❤Geosesarma Vampire Crab Species Posters Now Available: www.etsy.com/shop/IndoorEcosystem
I’m glad you mentioned line of sight barriers. It’s important to have those in order to keep things more balanced. Without line of sight barriers your ranged vampire crabs will be way OP compared to the melee vampire crabs.
You know your Vampire Crab skill tree well! Most people are unaware of their ranged abilities and double jump!
This thread has me in tears 😂
Your cinematography is awesome! I love those close-up shots. Your balance between cinematic scenes, build-process, and educating feels really nice.
Thank you ☺️ the music does the heavy lifting in this one 🤣 the hardest part is choosing the shots. I have 4 hours of random crab footage left!
@@IndoorEcosystem That’s a lot of footage to choose from!!
@@undr_life 😅 I leave my camera set up and If i walk past the tank and they are doing something interesting I'll try to film it. Especially if they are fighting. They are interesting to watch when they have stand offs.
hey man I started keeping these when they just entered the hobby and were kept in shitty “paludariums” that were 50/50 water land, and when people still thought they needed saltwater. It’s so awesome to see someone post reliable quality info, I recently got into them and I’ve realized how similar they are to keeping dart frogs. Cheers and happy new year
Wow I entered a few years ago and they were still super hard to get good info on. But at least they figured out they need fresh water by then!!! It's strange how information about their natural environment doesn't get passed on. It seems like the most important part of any process. Dart frogs are high on my list of animals to try at some stage so it's nice to know they are similarly easy to care for. I've watched quite a few videos about them as well. Happy New Year to you as well!
I am currently building a much smaller tank and i must say you have smashed a 100x better version of what I had planned! You make it look so easy without any building or foam and i love the cinematic intro! Keep it up man I love your videos :)
Thanks man I appreciate it! You get pretty good at it with practice 🙂 my biggest tip is to have a good selection of rocks of really different sizes you get tons of options then. Nailing the hardscape makes everything else just come together easily 😊
Such a beautiful stream and waterfall in Australia that you showed pictures of! 😍 This turned out wonderfully and I appreciated the maintenance portion as well. Gorgeous! 🙂👍
Thank you Tara ☺One of my favourite little spots, it was seasonal though, so only flowed for about 9 months of the year but it's was quite a relaxing place. Maintenance is really easy with the right plants. I made some mistakes in my first build so I've opted for slowly denser growing things lately 😂 I know you know the feeling well!
This tank looks incredible. Your crabs have to be very happy living in there. Your style of filming and editing is also amazing. Your videos are always a piece of art 😊
Thanks man I appreciate you stopping by ☺I'm quite attached to this layout at the moment so I'm looking forward to it growing in for a nice long while. It will be good to see it evolve as the months roll on.
@@IndoorEcosystem I am looking forward to any future update videos, this is such an awesome scape :)
With each upload I long for the day I have enough space in my home for a nice big tank like this...
I know the feeling! 😅 Space is almost worse than cost sometimes!
“They will fight and they will kill each other” 😂 Harsh. Beautiful build, definitely continue to surround the substrate with rocks/gravel/sand to hide the false bottom!
They are very angry little creatures! They remind me a lot of Vikings Feasting, Fighting, and F*@king. If they aren't doing either of those they are sleeping!
It looks a lot cleaner with the hidden false bottom doesn't it! I've got another method I want to try some some stage as well. A little more experimental though.
@@IndoorEcosystem haha, indeed. I’ve learnt so much about crabs through this channel of yours. Really? What other method is that? (I always hide the false bottom)
@@cleandeskpolicyI just need to get a couple more species 🤔I know they are quite similar but im curious if they have different quirks. I've noticed my purple ones seem to fight more than my reds so I'm sure there are other little differences to figure out.
I'm going to try some egg-crate grille in some smaller scape where space and weight is an issue. It will be a bit of an experiment though as clayballs are hard to beat for biomedia and cost. but both are reusable which is great.
amazing videos, all of them! I would LOVE to know what you do for the lids as they are never shown and only rarely talked about. you go in depth about great 5-10gal builds on super low budgets but never discuss your lids.. I'm stuck at this pre-build part and I wish I had that from you.
Cheers!
Lids are super simple, just whack a piece of clear acrylic or plexiglass on top with a few air holes drilled in it. Should only cost a couple of bucks. With the air holes just drill a few around the edges. It will help a little with glass fogging.
Otherwise you can even use the glass out of picture frames if you have some spare.
@IndoorEcosystem how do you stop the bowing? All my acrylic lids end up bowing inward 😢
@@VolcanixAquatix if you have a big area to cover you need to get thicker stuff it won't bow. The thin stuff works well for smaller tanks but if you try to use it on bigger ones it sags. I've seen people brace it's with a a few tidy runs of hard wire. Just held with a couple of dabs of glue
Bravo from my fish room in Chicago! I adored this video essay and very much appreciate your skill set in creating such a fabulous home for these wonderful inverts. TY!
Much appreciated 🙂 they are such quirky little critters. Sometimes they love hanging out and are social other times they all want to murder eachother. There's always something interesting going on in their world. I think you'd enjoy keeping some 😉 you'd love tending to their ecosystem
Great first vid for 2024. 😃
Also first 😁
You sure you ain't a bot! 😂🤣😅 Your success rate is 100%
@@IndoorEcosystem Haha oh how I wish. 😆
I really loved the intro part of your video. The music you chose, paired with your video and editing skills, is just beautiful. You're starting 2024 strong. 😊
@@Cow_Juice The hardest part of every single video is getting the right music track! Takes more time than the editing sometimes! This song was perfect!
@@IndoorEcosystem That is just the exact word I had in mind. Yes, it is perfect. 😃
😅
Beautiful!
Thank you ☺
Looks so amazing!
Thanks! I'm pretty surprised how well it's going after only about 82 days. I normally have to wait a lot longer.
super good equality video! i have always loved crabs and this is crab paradise!
Thank you ☺Crabs are super interesting little animals to watch too. They are always creeping around or doing something odd.
I thoroughly enjoy your videos and I have been learning a lot from them. Thank you for taking your time sharing your knowledge with us. Looking forward to more of your videos.
Thank you very much and thanks for taking the time to drop a comment! I really appreciate it! I'll keep the content coming 😉Already quite a few in the pipeline!
Thank you for the great build.
Thank you! 😄I'll get an update video up in a couple more month it should look even more lush!
Very nice !
Cheers! This is my favourite big build and it's running like clockwork!
Great video! Answered a lot of questions I had and gave me more ideas. I just started my tank build today!!
Cheers! If you have any questions let me know 😊
Great production!
Thank you! I really enjoyed making this video 🙂
Beautiful setup mate! very inspirational 🙂
Thanks Jason! I really appreciate you stopping by ☺
Very nicely done mate, well done!
Thank you! ☺️
I love it! I’m getting so inspired by your videos man. They just keep getting better! Epic
Cheers! I learn something every build! Sometimes it's about the ecosystem sometimes it's about editing 😂
Thank you so much ive always wanted to do this with fire salamanders but all the other guys who do it use so much expensive dtuff
Fire salamanders are super cool! You really don't need to spend a ton of money for a nice set up. Apart from the tank and light you can get the rest either free or for a few bucks. Plants are the only other thing that might cost some money. But you can easily go with cheap options like ferns. Plus ferns look great and spread pretty fast!
@IndoorEcosystem okay thanks for the info i just wanted to buy a mistking hut there 200 bucks
Im probably gonna make a video about the bulid of it. Feel free to ever check it out!
@@Avesdumadventures I'll keep an eye out for it 🙂
This is epic
☺Much appreciated!
Hello
This is a beautiful paludarium
Thank you for sharing
May I ask how you keep the plants and soil moist
Thank you :D
The plants and soil are always a little moist and absorb water from the water section and condensation.
However when I have lots of moss I mist the tank with a spray bottle once or twice per week. In summer a little more if i see things drying out.
Another excellent build!
Thank you ☺️ thanks for taking the time to comment as well! I really appreciate it!!
You’re one of my favorite channels and I always look forward to your videos! Your efforts and your sharing of your knowledge is appreciated 😊
@@ramonsita625 That's one hell of a compliment ☺😍 Thanks for the support! And taking the time to comment! I really appreciate it!
Let me know what you think of this video! 💭❤
I must reiterate because I think you did a phenomenal job. That intro, along with the music, just wow! 👏
@@Cow_Juice Intros and outros are my favourite part of any video but as you said! Music carries everything!
@@IndoorEcosystem You certainly excel at it.
Why your channel hasn't gotten a million subscribers yet is a mystery to me. The people must still be caught in traffic somewhere. 😅😆
That intro tho 🔥👏
I think your videos have lured me into a new hobby .Great work
Hi, great job again, thx for advice and maintenance part, keep share your work.
From baguette country 👍
Thanks! I really appreciate it! The best part about Paludariums like this is that they are really easy to look after. As long as you don't use crazy plants. 😉
My first ever build I used a drawf banana which was amazing and the crabs loved It but it got tall real fast! More suited for a vertical tank not a long one 🤣
😂😂😂 banana jungle in da housse @@IndoorEcosystem
Mantap
I from Indonesia
Terima kasih ☺
Happy new year.
Cheers! Happy New Year to you as well ☺
What is the purpose of the front little "drain" you have? The hollow empty space? Also why don't you put your filter in a back panel similar to how the "all in one" aquariums do it. Can easily have access to pump
The little drain was to help with condensation problems. I had in another build in this tank during winter. The room temp vs the tank temp where very drastic for a while so the condensation build up quite extreme and ran down the glass into the door sliders and sometimes would drip on to the floor. This little drain send that water back into the cycle. But I don't have any issues at the moment as temps in and out of the tank are more stable so I don't have condensation issues.
As for the filter/back panel idea this tank is just a standard terrarium/paludarium so doesn't come with a back compartment like some AIO builds do. It's only 35cm deep as well so having a section like that would use up a lot of space.
But you are 100% right about doing that to make access easier. The only problem you have to contend with then is making sure you crabs (babies mostly) can't get into the back area.
It is January and RPM is 50% down. I am sure this one will get 50k views just because of Murphy's law. BTW prediction on the last video that I said will get 22k was right so.... expect this one to blow up.
You absolutely nailed the stats on the last one! And I suspect you are probably 100% right again especially about Murphy's law 🤣😂😅
@@IndoorEcosystem I told you...
@@IMaqua 😭 classic stitch up aye 👀
😂👍🙏
Brother, your youtube is about to blow the fuck up
😅 One can only hope! But CZcams has been quite conservative so far! 😆
I have questions about that springttails and isopods wouldnt they escape in that metal sheet at front?
Springtails might but they vaporise pretty quickly in the dry air. So it wouldn't even matter. I've never actually seen them on that surface though. I think the airflow coming in repels them. Isopods are too big the holes are exceptionally small.
this is an amazing tank, what moss do you prefer to use?
Thank you ☺️ hypnum and fern moss are the easiest. And for the water section you can't go past Christmas moss and Java moss.
Perfect! As always. But what about Kevin? 🦀
Oh no 😢 you didn't see my community post. Poor Kevin didn't make it! He got 18 weeks but I suspect he died of old age in the end. He died just before NY 😥
Noooooooo. Kevin 😪😢😭 Now I’m sad. Anyway, thank you for the wonderful community post. R.I.P. Kevin!
@@IamBraadsThanks for taking an interest in the little guys story 🙂He was a funny little character, I missing checking on him every day.
I’ve always wanted to know, did you build the actual glass tank yourself?
I've never been brave enough to cut glass. 😅
So i just asked a local glass guy to make this one to the dimentions I wanted. I showed him a few designes I saw online and he put it together for me. He'd made a few in the past which helped.
I plan on keeping vampire crabs soon and have a question. Do the babies escape through the gap in the middle between the two glass doors? Do you somehow have to seal that little gap?
Thanks in advance for your answer!
They can yes if it is too big. You can use some plastic shower seals to block it if you need to. It should just slip on to the edge of the glass easily enough.
@IndoorEcosystem thanks for the advice! I will do that. Love your videos. I watched all your vampire crab videos in preparation
@@maxshoto1557 You're most welcome and thanks for checking out more of my content ☺Just drop a comment if something comes up. Have fun with the build!
Do you think a variety of different vampire crabs would survive / be less likely to kill each other off in a big enough tank like a 40 gallon breeder?
It's less likely. But I honestly wouldn't bother mixing even in a tank that size. It's better to just get 2 or 3 smaller tanks with a species in each. Eventually the breed species that breeds the most will wipe out the other ones and you'll be single species before too long.
All it takes is one encounter from the wrong crab and it's game over. Some crabs might be less brutal but it's a dice throw on what you get.
Very beautiful tank! I’m always amazed by people’s creativity when it comes to terrarium builds. What lighting does one use to keep the plants growing and healthy?
Thank you! I was originally running one 90cm SUNSUN LED White and Blue LEDs. Which worked pretty well for a couple of years.
But I recently added a second 90cm Sinkor like to the setup with Red and White LEDs and the plants have exploded since doing that. I'm working on an update video of how the tank is doing now with some lighting upgrades and how I manage the humidty etc.
@@IndoorEcosystem That’s awesome, I’m looking forward to watching your next video and learning more! Thank you again!
@@IndoorEcosystem I’ve been trying to build my own bioactive terrarium so I’m curious to see what all goes into the process!
@@Ali3liAli No problem at all 🙂
@@Ali3liAli It's not as hard as it looks, my best tip is to go nice and slow, take your time and add lots of springtails early on. They are little miricle workers!
what is that hollow area at the front of the tank with the metal top for?
It's for airflow. It's a typical disgn for terrariums. There's a vent at the top as well so the air can circulate. Pulls air in from the bottom and flows out at the top.
Great video as usual! I have read somewhere that some species of vampire crabs like to dig burrows, is that something you have experienced?
Thank you 🙂From my experience and what I've read online, all of them pretty much dig burrows. That's why soil is super important. Especially if you want lots of breeding.
Sometimes I can look in this tank and not see a single crab even though there is probably 80 or so in there (including babies) Most of them live underground.
I'm working on a little video at the moment showing some of the burrows and holes they dig out. It's quite interesting.
@@IndoorEcosystem how cool! I'm looking forward to see that video. You just got me wondering, because I feel like I see you covering all of the soil with moss. 😁
@@Eck5k I do 😉but I discovered early on while keeping them that they just push little openings in it and make burrows in the soil just under the moss layer. It makes nice stable entrances for them to use. I usually just clean up the little dirt piles they leave at their front doors 😅
@@IndoorEcosystem that's so cool! Now it all makes sense
Do you spray your tank everyday? Or you have sprinklers for the moss?
I only have to spray once or twice a week in most of my tanks. I just do it manually with a spray bottle. Those sprinkler systems are overkill for most setups I find. They are great if you go away on holiday though.
Misting is one of those things that depends quite a lot on your tank style and lighting. If you have really strong lights that dry things out you will need to mist more so there is a little bit of experimenting with light intensity or height if you don't had an adjustable light.
Is there a way to prevent breeding? I don't want a bunch of crabs... 😅
Not really. The females can come pregnant and all male colonies are just fight clubs. The good news is that they are highly cannibalistic and eat their young so they self regulate the population in a lot of ways. Just let nature run it's course. They only live for about 2 to 2.5 years so it's nice to have a few babies survive to replace the adults.
Would keeping just a couple females be ok? I don't really want baby crabs honestly and I don't want fighting. Or can they be alone since they're territorial?
It's kinda complicated in regard.
All females works but there's a chance you'll get a pregnant one then your plan is compromised.
Fighting is unavoidable with males but they are oddly social at the same time so it's not a good idea to keep them solo unless you have a really aggressive male. Most fights just end with damaged pride or a lost limb thankfully.
As for babies the crabs are super cannibalistic so if they do have babies they'll more than likely eat most of them.
As they don't live all that long the odd baby that survives will go on to replace the adults
@@IndoorEcosystem Thanks so much for the answers and info! I think I'll get at least a 10 gallon then and just do 1 male and 2 females and let them have their space. If a lot of babies survive I can look into selling or giving to a pet store perhaps. Now to keep trying to find some local, so far no luck.
Hi what wood can we put into the tank ? Can I take some of outside ?
Avoid any green wood, pines, cypress, etc. Anything with saps and oils. Most of the others are ok. I use wood from outside in all my builds. Just expect some hitch hikers with some wood.
@@IndoorEcosystem can I use oak branches ?
@@NinapP-nt8bw yep. Oak is nice and safe
Do you see the crabs out and about very often?
Yep, there's always a few out and about roaming around. But mine are all captive bred. Wild caught ones will hide 99% of the time and usually only come out at night.
@@IndoorEcosystem Awesome thank you!
@@adammann42 No problem they breed fairly easily with lots of soil in your tank so the second generation will be all over the place 😊
is the heat mat you use connected to a thermometer or is always on?
This one has a heat dial on it so you can set it higher or lower but no themostat etc. I have it on a timer that runs opposite to the light. So it essentially only heats at night when it's cold.
I set it quite low then manually test the temps inside the tank with a themometer then increase or decrease it. You get more accurate results this way. I have a full video on vampire crab tank heating if you want more info on things.
@@IndoorEcosystem I am building my first tank and looking to get some crabs, do you know if there are any chat groups or anything to find breeders?
@@rileymast2386 it will all depend where you live. But my best advice is to avoid buying them online if you can. They ship really badly with a super higher mortality rate. If you can get them locally or semi locally that's your best option. Otherwise if you're in The US aquatic arts seems to be the best and safest option to use.
What was the cost of this build?
I've had most of this stuff for a few years so doing new builds inside the tank doesn't cost much at all now. But a rough tally of everything new is about $250 with the tank.
Everything is budget gear as cheap as possible. The wood, rocks, moss, etc I got from outside. Quite a few of the plants I also just broke of others I had going.
That's not including any of the crabs. They would be the most expensive part though these are crabs I've bred myself so no cost their either.
Does the tank smell??
Like the rainforest. But only when you open it.
Why are the crabs
?
These are herbivorous crabs, do not get carried away with feeding protein foods, this will lead to the fact that they will not be able to molt and will die
They are omnivores and will hunt and eat insects where possible as well as snails and shrimp. They eat a bit of everything. The key is a balanced diet.