Thought for sure he was dead!

[CrabbyPants1022]

I recently got a two new crabs and one of them buried himself in the sand immediately after getting home and putting him in a temporary tank while I got the main tank set up and cleaned. It was a 5 gallon tank with only play sand and two shells, one with salt water and one with freshwater. And a smaller shell for food. I got the other tank set up a day or two later and moved the other crab, Sheldon, into it where he seems to be adjusting quite well. Mr.Krabs, on the other hand... He stayed bured so I left him in there. And my God, I thought FOR SURE he was dead due to the smell that eventually started in there. It smelled like rotten, stinky, dead fish. And it was a very STRONG smell. It hit you in the face as soon as you lifted the lid. There was also no sand movement and I eventually stopped leaving food in the tank because it would just go bad and started attracting flies, even after changing it daily. Despite the smell, I left him alone JUST IN CASE. And I'm so glad I did because today, 4 weeks later, he was up on the surface, climbing up the side of the aquarium! I was so happy to see him as I thought for sure he was a goner. I was gonna leave him for a full 3 months just to be absolutely safe, thankfully that wasn't needed! Well. Anyways. I just wanted to post that as encouragement for anyone out there who is wondering if their crab is dead or just molting! It's definitely possible for a crab to stink to high heavens and still be alive! (My ten year old daughter says he was probably just farting and that's why it smelled)

[aussieJJDude]

Normally, when I have a smelly tank, the crabs have taken a bit of food and dragged it into one the the hides abd I haven't noticed... til it starts breaking down.


If all crabs are up, I would go hunting for the source of the smell, as a rotten egg smell could be a sign of a bacterial bloom.


What does the smell 'smell' like?

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[CrabbyPants1022]

It smells like dead, rotting fish. He was just in a temporary tank though, so I'm not too worried about the smell. He's already been introduced into the big tank so I can just clean that tank and be done with it.

[aussieJJDude]

Oh if its a temp tank, yeah. May as well clean it out!

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[Hermiesguardian]

Yay!