Moving crabitat?

[RAHermits]

Hey all!


First of all, apologies on being another one of those "Oh look hermit crabs at a beach store" people, but my fiancée and I are trying to do our research and we stumbled upon this great site!

We'll be moving soon and I've read that it's a fear that if you move a tank, it could collapse the tunnels that the crabs have built and cause them harm.

Could I have a smaller amount of substrate in the tank until we move in a few weeks, then add the necessary amount? Or is that not too big of a concern?

[Hermiesguardian]

Welcome! If there's not enough substrate it's possible they will do a surface molt. If you have more than 1 crab it's a problem because the other crab might eat it. I'm sure someone with more experience will offer advice.

[RAHermits]

Thank you for the response!

I should say, as a newbie, the whole water situation is concerning. To moisten their substrate, can I fill a bucket up with water, use prime to treat it, then wet the substrate?

[Kydra]

Everyone has their own way of getting the substrate to sandcastle consistency from all I've read.

When I setup the 10 gallon, I just put in a few inches of eco earth (coconut fiber) added saltwater from a gallon jug (dechlorinated water with half cup of instant ocean) until was wet, but not soaking wet then added a few inches of playsand and did the same mixing it all together... then repeat with more playsand until I was at least 6" deep. While I am probably at 3:1 playsand/EE, most recommend 5:1 with either dechlorinated freshwater or saltwater.

I decided on using the saltwater for multiple reasons including, hopefully, inhibiting some mold/bacterial growth in the substrate. The substrate shouldn't really have to be changed all that much once you have it together (just spot clean). I had some gloves on and mixed it with my hands until it was all evenly mixed and sandcastle consistency. Was good to go then just used a mister bottle (with freshwater) to clean off the sub all over the sides of the tank.

Just make sure it holds its shape and is not soaking wet where you have pooling of water at the bottom of the tank. As far as your moving situation, I will let those more experienced answer that. I had my two in a temp tank with only 3" of EE and one went down to molt after soaking in the saltwater bowl for a while.

Please have both freshwater and saltwater available. I read afterwards that many crabs will soak in saltwater prior to molting as it helps them swell up to shed their exoskeleton. My crab went down in the temp tank the day I added the saltwater after soaking then eating like a champ (he remains there for now).

Just some thoughts from another boardwalk impulse crab purchaser lol. The care guide on here was very helpful and basically my go to from getting them from the wired cage to a temp setup until I was home and did it all right with the 10 gallon tank so if you have not read that, I'd strongly recommend the read!

[RAHermits]

Thank you for the detailed response Kydra!


I guess my concern is setting up a big tank, then moving in a couple weeks and accidentally causing a tunnel to collapse on a crab. So I'm not sure if it makes sense to keep them in a smaller setup or what...

[Scarletfire]

How are they currently set up, and how big is their permanent home?

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk