Saltwater crab identification and help - florida area.

[guavanectar]

I have found some little crabs. The largest I saw out on the rocks at the beach were about 2"(not including legs). They look a lot like Lined Shore Crabs, but those are on the west coast only.

So my first question is, what are they?

In my pictures you can see them, and you'll also see that I've snatched them from the wild. I have three. The container is 7.5in across, 4in tall, and has 1.25in water in it. It also has some... green moss? I am not sure what the plant is called but it was growing all over rocks. They either eat that plant, or the kelp that's in it. So of course, there is tons of kelp in the tank, and also some black/white shelled tiny snails that were around the same rocks. There is half the flow of a 10g air pump. The large shells are from the beach, while the small white shells are aquarium substrate. The water is from the ocean.

I have never kept crabs before. Does each species require much different care? Is the container I have alright?

 

[Lorna]

hmmm I am not a big fan of removing wildlife from nature and keeping it as a good habit please don't reintroduce these animals back to the wild once you have had them in captivity. I think that it is actually illegal in some places to collect wildlife to keep in your home. From a husbandry stand point you should really research your additions prior to collecting them for this reason. A lot of crabs you see are predatory scavengers that are not ideal inhabitants for a home aquarium. I can't see your pictures where I am but the shape of the crabs claws will give you an indication of it's eating etc. the green sounds like some sort of macro algae, byropsis perhaps?