Can a smelly water dish kill crabs?

This is where you discuss the conditions of your crabitat -- temperature, humidity, substrate, decorating, etc.

starmaiden
Posts: 419
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2006 3:41 pm
Location: Washington State

Post by starmaiden » Sun Sep 10, 2006 12:05 am

I usually scrub all my hermie food and water dishes with dish soap when I change the food and water, then a quick dip in dechlor water to rinse off the tap water before I dry them off and use them again.

So sorry for your losses Troppo! I hope your last little one makes it! :(


Topic author
troppo

Post by troppo » Sun Sep 10, 2006 6:43 pm

Thanks for all the tips everyone :)
I have a new salt water dish now,it's a smooth repti-dish and i scrubbed(new brush) it out with vinegar and hot water,then dried it before placing in the tank and filling up with salt water. The crab that was in Iso died last night and he had black stuff around his mouth too.
That is my biggest fear at the moment that I'm going to lose every single remaining crab in my tank,it's worse than when I first started crabbing and lost every single crab when it tried to molt and got stuck in the exo :(
Right now I've 8 crabs left. Am thinking now,what am I doing trying to give advice to other people here when I can't even get it right myself?(sorry am mad)


Topic author
Guest

Post by Guest » Mon Sep 11, 2006 6:35 am

troppo.... don't think like that. **hugs **


Your info is very important to the site. I know I had some times that you helped me so much! I still remember the time I was going through my first molt and I was worried and very unsure about what was going on and you "held my hand" through it.

Have you PMed Chestersmom about the black stuff incase it is a bacteria infection? She's been working with a vet on how to treat it.

I am so sorry about your little guys. **more hugs**


Topic author
troppo

Post by troppo » Mon Sep 11, 2006 5:41 pm

Thanks Featherscrabs for replying,I'm fairly down about this at the moment and it really helps if there's someone that takes a little time to care.
I haven't pm'd Chestersmom about it,as I think if it is a bacterial infection then it'd have to be internal with the crabs,and nothing can really fix that.
All I can do is be fanatical about cleaning in there and hope that all the crabs don't die...


Topic author
Guest

Post by Guest » Mon Sep 11, 2006 10:50 pm

I agree! No one has to be perfect to help others, otherwise I shouldn't be posting either! You have such a kind and unique, Troppoesque way of expressing yourself that couldn't be replaced.

I know I've gotten frustrated sometimes and start to wonder what I've got myself into, but it usually passes, sometimes it takes longer for me than other times.

I'm so sorry your little guy didn't make it. :(


Topic author
Guest

Post by Guest » Tue Sep 12, 2006 9:32 am

Troppo... how are things going? Has there been any change since Thursday?

I remember how I felt when I disturbed a molter because I didn't look for windows before I dug for a deep clean and he ended up dying... I should have known better! Sometimes we make mistakes. We just need to try to learn from them and share what we have learned with others.


Topic author
Guest

Post by Guest » Tue Sep 12, 2006 11:21 am

Hi troppo ... Sorry to hear about your loss's. Wow, this really got me thinking and requires more research on my part :? ! My water dishes for my large crabs are buried in the sand. I completely remove all water every three days and wipe with a paper towel to remove the slim. Once a month for deeper cleaning I remove the water dishes, wash with soap and water, rinse with water and vinegar, rinse with crab safe water and replace in tank. So far no loss's due to the water. Good luck on deciding a cleaning method.


Topic author
troppo

Post by troppo » Tue Sep 12, 2006 7:02 pm

So far all the crabbies seem to be doing ok,no more deaths as yet(knock on wood).
Ended up having to make a decision with whether to deepclean or not(to hopefully control a bacterial outbreak if that was the case).
Gut feeling was to do it yesterday after weighing up the pros and cons(and after reading Daddyshells post on deepcleaning),and then leave the crabs be after that and hope for the best. Thankfully there were no crabs molting at the time(not molting season here yet). In the end I guess time will tell whether the crabs will be ok or not,I'm really trying to do all I can.

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