naked crab in water bowl

[Milj]

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? 6 inch mix of eco Earth and sand


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? cooler side of the tank, typically 77-81 degrees and 90%+ humidity


3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what? uths on all sides besides the front


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 water and instant ocean salt water both treated beforehand with prime


5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? usually all aspects of the crab food pyramid, dry, changed every week


6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? a few months ago 2 crabs changed into identical shells and already look identical so im not 100% sure, but if I'm right then this one I've had since October, if I'm wrong and it's the other one then I've had him since June last year


7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen? molted in the first couple months I got him and then again in Feb


8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing? 20gal with a glass lid


9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? 2 medium and 1 small


10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? about 20 usually


11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently? no


12. How often do you clean the tank and how? occasionally I clean the tank glass but I'm trying to go for regularly every year; boil or put in oven all the accessories + shells, change substrate


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? I had to deep clean the tank about 4 weeks ago but I'm using all the same accessories and decor, other than deeper water pools


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.)? if I have the right crab then this one has been more active since I put him in the new tank, staying out during the day and not running when I come near him compared to the first few months of having him, though if this is the crab that I've had for almost a year now then he's been active like that since Nov of last year I believe, and he's pretty used to me


16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail. 5 days ago I saw one of the crabs was without a shell, I ISO'd him with a lot of shells around his size to choose from and after about 45 minutes checked. He had moved into a shell again, so I put him back in the tank. He acted as he usually does, not moving from one spot for a while but generally staying out during the day and moving to the food dish every now and then.
2 days ago I was walking past the tank and saw him trying to get out of the water bowl, and after walking past again I saw he was just about out of it but lost his shell in the process. That's when I realized I did notice the previous time that his shell was actually in the water bowl when I checked, so I assumed the deeper bowls were a problem even though I had pieces of the artificial vine for them to use to climb out in case they fall in. I changed back to the previous water bowls I was using which are shallow enough to not need anything specific to climb on. When I ISO'd him though after about 45 minutes he didn't pick a shell, so I thought I'd try the method on the naked crab thread and get him to back up into one on my hand, but when I held a shell out to him he just walked over and got into it instead. I put him back into the tank after that. During the day he didn't move much from the same spot I put him in which was right next to the food dishes.
About an hour ago I checked the tank and I saw the same crab without a shell but this time laying limp in the fresh water bowl. When I took him out he didn't move at all, and he's still not moving. I don't smell a rotting fish smell, but I know there have been cases where a dead crab won't smell like that. I'm not sure what to do, I'm not 100% assuming he is in fact dead but I have no idea how long he was laying naked in the water bowl, cause this time the shell he had on was in the same area I left him in last time, ie about 7 inches away from where the water bowl is. Could he have drowned? Should I still iso?

[JoeHermits]

It sounds like your crab was simply nearing the end of its life Anecdotally there have been many cases of crabs seeking water before death, which is where the drowning misconception originated.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GotButterflies]

Something is definitely going on here. Are you offering calcium? Are you sure you are covering all aspects of the food pyramid?

What are you cleaning your glass with? I personally don't recommend any chemicals. I just use a dry paper towel with a spritz of dechlorinated water and a lot of elbow grease.

[Milj]

It sounds like your crab was simply nearing the end of its life Anecdotally there have been many cases of crabs seeking water before death, which is where the drowning misconception originated.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I see. Thank you for the info.

[Milj]

Something is definitely going on here. Are you offering calcium? Are you sure you are covering all aspects of the food pyramid?

What are you cleaning your glass with? I personally don't recommend any chemicals. I just use a dry paper towel with a spritz of dechlorinated water and a lot of elbow grease.

I normally put out mixes that have all aspects of the pyramid and then combine with other mixes that have a few or most aspects of the pyramid. I also have cuttlebone in and put eggshells whenever I actually use eggs, I haven't put any in lately since I haven't had any eggs and I'm also still monitoring for ants.

In the past I've only used white vinegar on a paper towel to clean the glass, but that's only if it's super stained. If it's just bits of substrate/mites making it harder to see then I just use the regular freshwater and paper towels.

[GotButterflies]

Is your substrate mixed with dechlorinated fw or dechlorinated msw to make it sandcastle consistency?

If so, perhaps this is the crab that you purchased more recently and it is just suffering from PPS. I'm really sorry.

[Milj]

Is your substrate mixed with dechlorinated fw or dechlorinated msw to make it sandcastle consistency?

If so, perhaps this is the crab that you purchased more recently and it is just suffering from PPS. I'm really sorry.

Yeah, mixed with dechlorinated msw and watered down slightly with dechlor fw with sandcastle consistency. It's alright, I'm only a little surprised cause he seemed to be doing fine this past month, compared to the months after I got him where he'd be super shy and dug down a lot, I usually wouldn't see him for weeks, and for a month and a half I had assumed he dug down and died during a molt or something. Once I got him into the redone tank after deep cleaning it though he was just as active as my other crabs and he seemed happy. I suppose it's just hard to tell with knowing their underlying conditions, understandably.

[GotButterflies]

Very true. Sometimes they are extremely active before they take a turn for the worse.