Sick crab
Posted: Fri May 10, 2019 11:06 pm
One of our crabs got sick and died in December and unfortunately another is now sick. Please help me figure out what I’m doing wrong and how to save him 
1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? Eco Earth moist to sand castle consistency. Whole tank is 6”-7”.
2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read? Yes I have a digital Acurite. I had trouble with too high humidity and flooding in February upon moving homes, but now the tank is pretty steadily at 92-95% humidity and 78 degrees temp.
3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what? 2 small (5-10 gallon) flat heaters taped to the back and side of the tank.
4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)? Fresh dechlorinated water and dechlorinated salt water made using Instant Ocean. I use Prime dechlorinator (switched in December) but used to use Zoomed brand.
5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? Wide variety of fresh foods along with some freeze dried foods. Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, banana, mango, spinach, green pepper, orange pepper, broccoli, cilantro, fennel, hemp, ground legumes, peanut butter, cheese, hard boiled egg, dried shrimp, green sand, worm castings, spiruella, honey, Royal jelly, bee pollen, oats, millet, boiled egg shell, crushed oyster shell, crushed crab & lobster shell, calcium powder, calcium block, leaf litter, and occasionally raw popcorn & Honey Nut Cheerios as treats. I change their food and water every 1-3 days depending on what it is, if it’s starts getting moldy, or if they eat a ton and make a mess.
I feel there might be nutritional gaps so I just purchased a big order from chollaqueen on Etsy of new foods but this guy hasn’t had any yet: azomite, coconut & chia mix, crushed cottonseed, freeze dried copepods, fish bone mix, crushed cattlebone, dunaliella saline microalgae, black goji berry powder, blue butterfly pea flower powder, ground blue corn, orange fish bone mix, and Icelandic kelp.
6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? Had him about 1.5 years and I’m not sure what kind.
7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen? He molted in January and then recently noted again (came up about 1 week ago). Last tune he was very pale then became dark blue color. This time he cane up pale and is a grey-blue but very pale.
8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing? 10 gallon, 90% covered in plastic wrapped lid to maintain humidity. Humidity was too high when I had it fully covered in February which led to flooding. Due to the flooding I did have to dig up all 3 of my crabs, but none appeared to be molting then.
9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? 2 small and 1 medium. I was going to upgrade to a larger tank but instead changed the decor and added more second level & climbing.
10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? About 12-15 shells right now. I rotate different ones in/out occasionally. I just moved him to an iso tank a few hours ago though with no other shells because he’s so weak.
11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently? No.
12. How often do you clean the tank and how? I clean surface scraps & any spotted waste very 2-3 days. I did a big clean last Fall but was told that’s not needed and to just spot clean so I do that now.
13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned? No.
14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?
15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)? There’s been a lot going on over the last few months - developed mites in December, one of our other crabs died in December at that time, he molted around January, we moved in February, flooding in February-early March and I had to dig them up and mix in dry EE, he molted again since then and came up about 1 week ago. He hadn’t been very active since then, but I have seen him moving around some and he appeared to eat some fruit & honey & popcorn but I’m not sure if he ate any of the other foods offered.
16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail. He molted about 1 week ago and hasn’t been very active since coming up. Last night he was in his shell on his back next to the food dish and I thought he was just being silly. This morning he was limply 1/2 out of his shell. When I opened the tank lid he pulled himself back into his shell. I put him in an iso container with fresh & salt water in bottle caps, a large bottle cap of honey, bee pollen, a fruit mix,calcium powder, green sand, Cuttle bone, and just added azomite. Soil is damp but not flooded and I gently put a leaf over him so he can hide. I also put hand warmers next to the container on one side to raise the temp so he hopefully isn’t cold.
What am I doing wrong? Why is he sick and how can I keep this from happening to the other 2? I fear it’s something I’m doing wrong since we lost one in December also.
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1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? Eco Earth moist to sand castle consistency. Whole tank is 6”-7”.
2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read? Yes I have a digital Acurite. I had trouble with too high humidity and flooding in February upon moving homes, but now the tank is pretty steadily at 92-95% humidity and 78 degrees temp.
3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what? 2 small (5-10 gallon) flat heaters taped to the back and side of the tank.
4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)? Fresh dechlorinated water and dechlorinated salt water made using Instant Ocean. I use Prime dechlorinator (switched in December) but used to use Zoomed brand.
5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? Wide variety of fresh foods along with some freeze dried foods. Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, banana, mango, spinach, green pepper, orange pepper, broccoli, cilantro, fennel, hemp, ground legumes, peanut butter, cheese, hard boiled egg, dried shrimp, green sand, worm castings, spiruella, honey, Royal jelly, bee pollen, oats, millet, boiled egg shell, crushed oyster shell, crushed crab & lobster shell, calcium powder, calcium block, leaf litter, and occasionally raw popcorn & Honey Nut Cheerios as treats. I change their food and water every 1-3 days depending on what it is, if it’s starts getting moldy, or if they eat a ton and make a mess.
I feel there might be nutritional gaps so I just purchased a big order from chollaqueen on Etsy of new foods but this guy hasn’t had any yet: azomite, coconut & chia mix, crushed cottonseed, freeze dried copepods, fish bone mix, crushed cattlebone, dunaliella saline microalgae, black goji berry powder, blue butterfly pea flower powder, ground blue corn, orange fish bone mix, and Icelandic kelp.
6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? Had him about 1.5 years and I’m not sure what kind.
7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen? He molted in January and then recently noted again (came up about 1 week ago). Last tune he was very pale then became dark blue color. This time he cane up pale and is a grey-blue but very pale.
8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing? 10 gallon, 90% covered in plastic wrapped lid to maintain humidity. Humidity was too high when I had it fully covered in February which led to flooding. Due to the flooding I did have to dig up all 3 of my crabs, but none appeared to be molting then.
9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? 2 small and 1 medium. I was going to upgrade to a larger tank but instead changed the decor and added more second level & climbing.
10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? About 12-15 shells right now. I rotate different ones in/out occasionally. I just moved him to an iso tank a few hours ago though with no other shells because he’s so weak.
11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently? No.
12. How often do you clean the tank and how? I clean surface scraps & any spotted waste very 2-3 days. I did a big clean last Fall but was told that’s not needed and to just spot clean so I do that now.
13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned? No.
14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?
15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)? There’s been a lot going on over the last few months - developed mites in December, one of our other crabs died in December at that time, he molted around January, we moved in February, flooding in February-early March and I had to dig them up and mix in dry EE, he molted again since then and came up about 1 week ago. He hadn’t been very active since then, but I have seen him moving around some and he appeared to eat some fruit & honey & popcorn but I’m not sure if he ate any of the other foods offered.
16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail. He molted about 1 week ago and hasn’t been very active since coming up. Last night he was in his shell on his back next to the food dish and I thought he was just being silly. This morning he was limply 1/2 out of his shell. When I opened the tank lid he pulled himself back into his shell. I put him in an iso container with fresh & salt water in bottle caps, a large bottle cap of honey, bee pollen, a fruit mix,calcium powder, green sand, Cuttle bone, and just added azomite. Soil is damp but not flooded and I gently put a leaf over him so he can hide. I also put hand warmers next to the container on one side to raise the temp so he hopefully isn’t cold.
What am I doing wrong? Why is he sick and how can I keep this from happening to the other 2? I fear it’s something I’m doing wrong since we lost one in December also.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
