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It was in 2006 when a few resourceful wholesalers started offering to an increasing extent amphibian terrestrial crabs that united in them all traits of an interesting and easily kept terrarium animal. They were small, colourful, and keeping them according to their biological needs was not particularly demanding. They proved quite compatible amongst each other and even easy to propagate. Moreover, the crabs were, and still are, priced at a level that made acquiring a small group of these attractive animals readily affordable to the terrarium keeper who was interested in trying something new. With their reproduction being almost strictly water-bound and most species of the genus Geosesarma affording their offspring fascinating maternal care, these little crabs soon became favourites amongst terrarium keepers and ever more widely known as vampire crabs. It took only a short while for these animals to become firmly established in both the terrarium animal trade and terrarium keeper circles. Increasing demand also motivated suppliers to try and source more species or colour variants in the countries of origin so that the range of species and variants soon expanded to fifteen. Only a few of these have established themselves firmly in the market and amongst keepers so far, however. If you like nicely decorated rainforest terraria with a small aquatic section and maybe even a decorative stream or waterfall that you want to populate with small yet conspicuously colourful invertebrates, the genus Geosesarma might very well turn out to be a perfect choice.

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