Rainbow vampire crab – Detailed Guide: Care, Diet, and Tankmates

The vampire crab is referred to as a vampire crab due to their glowing eyes and feeding habit during twilight hours, before sunrise, and after sunset resembling the habit of an actual vampire, which can be a great addition to your paludarium. There are 67 known species of vampire crabs; the rainbow vampire crab is one of the coolest species from the genus Geosesarma, scientifically known as Geosesarma rouxi.

The colorful appearance of the rainbow vampire crab, and the easy keeping make it a good choice for crab enthusiasts. Here we’ll deep dive into all of the information.

Quick overview of Rainbow Vampire Crab

• Name: Rainbow Vampire Crab Geosesarma rouxi
• Type: Semi-terrestrial
• Minimum Tank Size: 10 Gallon
• Diet: Omnivore
• Temperament: Peaceful
• Keeping: Very easy
• Breeding: Relatively easy
• Optimal Temperature: 77 – 89.6°F (20 – 32°C)
• Aqurium Type: Paludarium
• Lifespan: 2 – 5 years

Rainbow vampire crab facts

1. The rainbow vampire crab can grow up to 5cm in their adult size.
2. They have yellow eyes, red legs, and a yellow-orange carapace with a carapace size of 1 to 1.5cm.
3. The females are darker than male crabs and have smaller pincers than males and the young are lighter in color. Source
4. The rainbow crab can be found and is native to ponds, rivers, and forest areas near streams in Java, Indonesia.
5. This is a semi-terrestrial crab, meaning they will need access to land and freshwater at the same time.
6. They need too much humidity like the condition of a rainforest.
7. It takes 1-2 molts to grow into adults.
8. The males are larger than the females.
9. rouxi is peaceful to its species but can be aggressive with other vampire crab species like the orchid vampire crab or other invertebrates.

Rainbow Vampire Crab care

Paludarium setup

Maintaining proper tank requirements is crucial for vampire crabs because it can affect their health and lifespan. Mimicking the natural habitat is the best way to serve.

Tank requirements

Unlike hermit crabs, the rainbow vampire crab can easily thrive in crowded areas. So you can choose a 10-gallon tank for 6-8 crabs and a 20-gallon tank for a dozen. The bigger the tank the better place will they get to crawl around. You can keep 2-3 in a 5-gallon tank.

Don’t forget about the lid because these crabs are great climbers and they will most probably escape if the tank doesn’t have a lid.

Substrate

To mimic their natural habitat the substrate always needs to be moist. You have to divide the tank with half land and half water or another way you like as they are semi-terrestrial crabs. You can use gravel, pebbles, and play sand or a mixture of those for the water part. Ensure that the water is a minimum of 2 cm in depth.

For the land part, you can use sphagnum moss, and coco fiber with a mix of some soil to harden the ground. This substrate will be perfect for them as it can keep humidity and moisture. Be careful about sphagnum moss as it is ideal for growing bacteria.

Decoration

The Geosesarma sp. needs as many hiding places as possible and climbing mediums. You can do it with your creativity however you like. Many products can be found in Amazon like Moss Cave, cholla wood, clay pots, castle crib, and half log pipe.

Add 1-2 big stones to ensure a proper hideout. Tip – You can use a coco fiber climbing carpet to add more room to play in the paludarium.

Paludarium plants like mosses, Anubias, Brazilian Pennywort, Waterhyssop, and rotalla can be added to give a more natural habitat experience.

Humidity temperature and water parameters

Rainbow vampire crabs will need a high-humidity environment from 75% to 80% as they live in rainforests where they get high humidity. To maintain this humidity you can use a hygrometer and a humidifier.

Ensure the temperature range is between 77 – 89.6°F (20 – 32°C). We suggest you use a heater.

They depend only on freshwater so nothing complicated like saltwater crabs but the pH level is 7.5-8.0 required.

Light requirements

Normal LED and no heating light are preferred as the heating lamp can zap the humidity. Light plays an essential role in the ecosystem, keeping the rainbow vampire crabs’ natural body mechanism alive. Divide day and night 12h and 12h that can simulate the natural progression from sunrise to sunset. You can change the timing following seasonal changes.

Rainbow Vampire Crab diet

As omnivorous scavengers, they will eat anything, veg and non-veg. Just ensure they are getting balanced food. Feeding tips below:-

• You can offer high quality commercial crab pellets and flakes.
• Little slices of vegetables like leafy greens, carrots, spinach, and zucchini.
• Small pieces of fruit like apples, cucumbers or bananas.
• They will also feed on moss, plants and algae.
• Dried Gammarus, crickets, fruit flies or roaches.
• Commercial food like JBL Novopleco.
• Dried or frozen meaty food like chicken.
• For calcium source which can help grow their exoskeleton, you can feed them cuttlebone or similar things as supplements.
• Feeding should be done in moderation.
• Clean any leftover food to avoid polluting water.

Rainbow Vampire Crab tank mates

The tank mates should be chosen carefully as they can react aggressively to foreign species, even with the same genus. Essential tips for tankmates are given below:-

• The male and female ratio should be 2:3 as the proper ratio to minimize harm during mating season.
• Keeping with other geosesarma species should be avoided.
• You can choose some freshwater fish but be careful with baby rainbow vampire crab as fish can the babies.
• The adult crabs will try to catch and eat the fish or shrimp; so fish that can move faster will be a great option as the crabs will have less chance to catch.
• Chili rasboras and amber tetras are great options as they have similar water conditions and are fast enough to escape.
• Some fish will be eaten you have to accept this.
• In vivarium, they can cooperate with dart frogs and small geckos.