Crushed coral

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu May 05, 2005 10:54 am

I am thinking of replacing my EE with crushed coral. I wanted to make sure my crabbies have enough calcium, and the EE keeps clogging my filters in the water baths. Those of you who have it, what kind do you have, the sugar grade or closer to gravel? Do your crabs dig and molt in it? Did you find it was hard to work with, and did you switch back to EE? I know this is a lot of questions, but if I invest in it, I want to make sure I like it.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu May 05, 2005 1:50 pm

I just offer my guys a mixture of crushed Oyster Shells and cuddle bone in a dish and they love it, there is always some one in it. I get it from petdiscounters.com for $1.00 a cup I buy alot of it cause it's for my Hermies and all by birds. Where do you buy crushed coral????Sandra

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu May 05, 2005 3:35 pm

Sandra, I've never used crushed coral, but they carry it at my local Petco in the marine fish section.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu May 05, 2005 3:44 pm

I am eyeing this:http://www.thatpetplace.com/Products/KW ... mdy00.aspx

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri May 06, 2005 2:25 am

It's hard to tell from the picture, but I know you shouldn't use any substrate with sharp edges in your crabitat. Before you purchase this, I would talk to the store there and ask what it looks like close up. Some gravels are too sharp and pokey to use as a hermie substrate, and this looks like it *might* be as well. I would just encourage you to ask and make sure before you buy.

Aviate · Post by **Aviate** » Sat May 07, 2005 6:12 am

i use aragonite, which is has worked fine for years, but I use either sand or fine grade gravel on just one side for molting. The crabs do walk and sit on both sides but Ive never seen one molt in the coral/aragonite. I know they must walk on sharp coral pieces on the beach, but they also have access to other substrate as well in which to molt.

moire_eel · Post by **moire_eel** » Sat May 07, 2005 11:13 am

I have the sugar-sized aragonite in my main tank now, and some that's a slightly larger grain size in my 20L iso. The crabs love it, and seem to have no trouble molting in it. The bigger crabs can have trouble building sturdy caves in it, though. Also, it doesn't seem to hold moisture quite as well as playsand.. I added a mix of half playsand, half sugar-sized aragonite in my 10 gallon iso and in part of my main tank last month, and this seems to be perfect. The crabs seem to like it better than just playsand, and it makes nice burrows without becoming as hard-packed as playsand can on its own.