LiveHermitCrabs.com

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kuza
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Re: LiveHermitCrabs.com

Post by kuza » Sat Oct 13, 2012 4:55 pm

patchouliii wrote:I know Kuza comes from experience when he says that, so thanks for the heads up Kuza.
My plan for the mite situation when I get them next week is a bare 20L with less than an inch of sub. Hides that are washable and 2 water bowls of-course.
I'll give one initial bath and order predatory mites. Kuza, if you see this, how much will I need for a 20L and 8 crabs?
1/2 liter or a liter? Oh, and how long from your experience should I leave them in ISO with the predatory mites?
You have to order the predatory mites a week in advance here just a heads up on that. They take all their orders then ship them all on Wednesdays so check the place you order from to plan it.

And 1/2 liter (if they will sell it to you less then 1 full liter) is more than enough. It does my whole 90 gallon and then some. And if you don't give them enough substrate to go down to molt you should only need the 1 cycle. The preds don't always eat the adult mites so unless you want the crabs in iso for 2-3 weeks to wait out their mites reproductive cycle i would still do a couple baths the first 2-3 days just to clear off the adult mites, it really speeds things up, so it's days to clear the mites instead of weeks.

In fact you get so much in just the half liter I would use half the preds in the iso and half in your main tank, then leave them 2 weeks in iso doing a few baths the first few days and then just do check baths in a week or 1.5 weeks to just do a follow up check and if you see no more mites you should be able to move them over, and then the good news is you have preds the main tank already waiting for them just in case.

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wodesorel
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Re: LiveHermitCrabs.com

Post by wodesorel » Sat Oct 13, 2012 4:56 pm

speeddemonbk wrote:On second thought about my previous question, I think I wont order any...I don't want mites to deal with, why do they send them like that? I've seen lots of posts about their crabs coming to their new owners that way... :?
MItes are a natural part of an exotic crab's life, and they are tough to combat on a huge scale. It's much safer and less stressful for the crabs to be sent home with them for individual treatment. The new owners would only have a few crabs to take care of with twice daily baths and could keep a much closer eye on the crabs to make sure that the mites are being treated. Trying to do hundreds of crabs would not only take forever, it would be even more stressful for them and the risk of reinfection from other crabs (ie, the mites start bouncing from crab to crab to crab) would be extremely high.

If it were something simple like being able to use a chemical to kill the mites then I would have a problem with any crab anywhere having mites and being sold (since straws in pet shops often have mites as well), but crab mites can only be treated by sterile conditions, lots of salt-water baths, and time. (Or predatory mites, which can take months to work all the way.) Something that like is best left to the new owners who can take the time and do it right the first time.
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kuza
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Re: LiveHermitCrabs.com

Post by kuza » Sat Oct 13, 2012 4:57 pm

speeddemonbk wrote:On second thought about my previous question, I think I wont order any...I don't want mites to deal with, why do they send them like that? I've seen lots of posts about their crabs coming to their new owners that way... :?

You should be able to deal with the mites with just baths and a week or 2 in ISO however it is stressful to them. But it's going to be hard to get crabs mite free anywhere, I've had them come in from every place I've gotten crabs.

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lilscout
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Re: LiveHermitCrabs.com

Post by lilscout » Sat Oct 13, 2012 5:02 pm

kuza wrote:do NOT let any mites into your main tank, trust me. :/
I have a question mainly aimed at kuza but, anyone can answer. :)

Can Mites move from one tank to another?

Example:
If you have mites in your ISO and it's sitting right next to your main tank or even in the same room,
can the mites migrate over to your main tank without being transported by a crab?

If you have little or no substrate in the ISO, would they be able to go find better conditions? (in your main tank)

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Experience comes from bad judgement...

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patchouliii
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Re: LiveHermitCrabs.com

Post by patchouliii » Sat Oct 13, 2012 5:03 pm

Kuza,

I'm ordering from this place http://store.evergreengrowers.com/prost ... s+scimitus
When bathing the crabs, I guess the predatory mites would be on them too once I release them? How on earth do I tell them apart in the water? I know they look different, but it seems like a challenge.
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kuza
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Re: LiveHermitCrabs.com

Post by kuza » Sat Oct 13, 2012 5:16 pm

lilscout wrote: I have a question mainly aimed at kuza but, anyone can answer. :)

Can Mites move from one tank to another?

Example:
If you have mites in your ISO and it's sitting right next to your main tank or even in the same room,
can the mites migrate over to your main tank without being transported by a crab?

If you have little or no substrate in the ISO, would they be able to go find better conditions? (in your main tank)
They will get on your clothes and transfer when you put your hands into the other tank. I've seen mites running on and off crabs onto plants and such in my tank so just picking up a crab with mites means they may already be on you. However they won't go from tank to tank, only the predatory mites may do that since they don't live on the crabs like the crab mites do.

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kuza
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Re: LiveHermitCrabs.com

Post by kuza » Sat Oct 13, 2012 5:35 pm

patchouliii wrote:Kuza,

I'm ordering from this place http://store.evergreengrowers.com/prost ... s+scimitus
When bathing the crabs, I guess the predatory mites would be on them too once I release them? How on earth do I tell them apart in the water? I know they look different, but it seems like a challenge.
When I dd my second round of baths I think I flushed out a pack of predatory mites on a pack of bad mite eggs, so I think I flushed some predatory mites myself. However the predatory mites I have yet to see on the crabs themselves, but I do see them climbing around and on my tank. But I would limit the baths to just the first 2 days once the preds are in.

The mites look very different, the Stratiolaelaps Scimitus (H.miles) predatory mites when you get them you'll see have 2 different looks. I almost thought they sent me 2 different kinds of mites but they are just different sex. At first you'll only notice the females in the peat bran they come in, then you'll start to see the tiny males on the container itself, that's why you have to leave it in the tank for a night to let them all run out of the container even after you spoon all the peat bran stuff around your 2 tanks.

Here's a breakdown of the differences;

Female SS's (Stratiolaelaps Scimitus aka H.Miles): Very large and Tan, almost colorless. You can see them swing a pair of legs out in front like feelers. You will see them climbing around inside the tank on the glass even on your top. Not as fast as the crab mites but faster then the male SS's.

Male SS's: Very tiny, white, the legs almost look like fuzz they are so tiny. They walk like a small caterpillar. I see these guys outside the rim of my tank, I just open the lid and blow them back in when I can.

Bad Crab mites: Tiny and FAST. They are just a bit bigger then the male SS mites but smaller then the females so maybe in size. They will vary in color from white to dark brown/red and their legs look more like tick or flea legs, almost like a little spider. If you make a claw out of your hand then that's how the legs on the bad mites look.

hope this helps!

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lilscout
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Re: LiveHermitCrabs.com

Post by lilscout » Sat Oct 13, 2012 5:38 pm

*******************************************************************************************************

Thanks kuza

I haven't had any mite problems yet but, wanted info as I could run into them someday.............

Maybe I'll be semi-prepared.
Yeah, right. :shock:

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Re: LiveHermitCrabs.com

Post by CrabbyMom33 » Sat Oct 13, 2012 5:58 pm

When I was dealing with mites I would do everything for the day in my main tank, then when I was finished with it I would start on the tank with the crabs with mites. That way I minimized the opportunity for me to transfer any mites to my main tank. I'm so mite shy that if I handle crabs at a store I will change my shirt when I come home before I do anything in my 90 gallon just to make sure none were hanging on my clothes.
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patchouliii
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Re: LiveHermitCrabs.com

Post by patchouliii » Sat Oct 13, 2012 6:04 pm

Thanks SOOO much Kuza! I'm bracing myself for these mites! I'm literally about to pass out :cry:
Crabbiopolis est. 2010.
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kuza
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Re: LiveHermitCrabs.com

Post by kuza » Sat Oct 13, 2012 7:07 pm

you get used to them and it's something you can handle, don't stress over it. :-)

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Re: LiveHermitCrabs.com

Post by cjmiller » Sat Oct 13, 2012 11:53 pm

:shock: OK this conversation has me totally grossed out. I really hope I never ever EVER have a mite problem. I don't think I could bring myself to deal with them.

What do you do with the predatory mites after all your bad mites are dead? So you just dispose of everything in the ISO tank, mites and all?
Christina
8 PP's and 10 E's in a 170gal tank / 3 Straws, 4 Ruggies, 3 Violas in ISO right now after shipment
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kuza
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Re: LiveHermitCrabs.com

Post by kuza » Sun Oct 14, 2012 12:11 am

they die off

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Re: LiveHermitCrabs.com

Post by orangemelodie » Sun Oct 14, 2012 10:09 am

with this craberriesusa.com site, you don't need to do wholesale! They have violas, straws AND blues! You just email them PLUS, their crabs are half the price!
Sorry but i cant bring myself to order from a place that encourages keeping crabs in KKs and painted shells as well as encouraging keeping many crabs in a small space.
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Re: LiveHermitCrabs.com

Post by Temeriki » Sun Oct 14, 2012 10:43 am

cjmiller wrote::shock: OK this conversation has me totally grossed out. I really hope I never ever EVER have a mite problem. I don't think I could bring myself to deal with them.

What do you do with the predatory mites after all your bad mites are dead? So you just dispose of everything in the ISO tank, mites and all?
They "melt" back into the EE and feed your bacteria.
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