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What happened to my two PPs ?(What did they die of?)
Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2020 2:55 pm
by BlazeTheWeirdo
To give context, I have taken to writing a patient journal whenever one of my crabs has gotten ill. Recently I have had two untimely deaths, both crabs had similar symptoms, but the reason behind the death is still a mystery to me. I want to find out what this is so I can protect the others. I don't want them going through the same thing.
Here I have a document of the journal with the entries of Digger, and Frank. I try to be as clear and accurate to times as I can. If anyone has any idea what happened to them,
please let me know!! I feel horrible about the whole thing, and I lost two amazing boys to this. You are welcome to add comments in the document.
(Here's the drive link, since people are having a hard time accessing it.)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/16dI8JJ ... sp=sharing
Google doc link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g1a ... sp=sharing
Dropbox link:
https://www.dropbox.com/transfer/AAAAAN ... NxecoLkSJM
Re: What happened to my two PPs ?(What did they die of?)
Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2020 3:01 pm
by Crabby7Crabber
BlazeTheWeirdo wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2020 2:55 pm
To give context, I have taken to writing a patient journal whenever one of my crabs has gotten ill. Recently I have had two untimely deaths, both crabs had similar symptoms, but the reason behind the death is still a mystery to me. I want to find out what this is so I can protect the others. I don't want them going through the same thing.
Here I have a document of the journal with the entries of Digger, and Frank. I try to be as clear and accurate to times as I can. If anyone has any idea what happened to them,
please let me know!! I feel horrible about the whole thing, and I lost two amazing boys to this. You are welcome to add comments in the document.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g1a ... sp=sharing
I cannot access it.
Re: What happened to my two PPs ?(What did they die of?)
Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2020 3:13 pm
by BlazeTheWeirdo
I think I fixed the google doc link. You should be able to see it now.
Re: What happened to my two PPs ?(What did they die of?)
Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2020 3:27 pm
by Crabby7Crabber
BlazeTheWeirdo wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2020 3:13 pm
I think I fixed the google doc link. You should be able to see it now.
It still says I need permission to access it. Maybe you should just copy and paste it onto here to make things easier?
Re: What happened to my two PPs ?(What did they die of?)
Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2020 4:01 pm
by JoeHermits
You got them both from Petco, right? It could be PPS, which is difficult to avoid, even if you provide good living conditions.
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Re: What happened to my two PPs ?(What did they die of?)
Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2020 4:12 pm
by BlazeTheWeirdo
JoeHermits wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2020 4:01 pm
You got them both from Petco, right? It could be PPS, which is difficult to avoid, even if you provide good living conditions.
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I suppose, yeah. That's a theory I have too. I'm just wondering if it would affect them 7 months later. I got them at the end of June. (Same day)
What happened to my two PPs ?(What did they die of?)
Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2020 4:31 pm
by JoeHermits
It’s possible. Sorry, it’s a long document and I kind of skimmed it

I’m too used to the organization of the help request template.
You mentioned Frank molting, right? And Digger did not? We don’t know what they went through before you got them, so they could’ve had some internal injury we don’t know about. It’s hard to say with hermit crabs.
Edit: grammar
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Re: What happened to my two PPs ?(What did they die of?)
Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2020 4:42 pm
by Crabby7Crabber
I requested access.
Re: What happened to my two PPs ?(What did they die of?)
Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2020 6:28 pm
by BlazeTheWeirdo
I added a few alternative links in case the google doc link didn't work. I'm not sure why the google doc isn't allowing public access. If you still can't access it from any of the other links, please let me know, I'll try to fix it.
What happened to my two PPs ?(What did they die of?)
Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2020 11:41 am
by Links
It sounds like you kept good care of their crabitat. I’ve only had my crab clan for 4 months and recently lost a medium size female. She and a medium male I got with her were very lethargic for a week or two. I couldn’t figure it out. Well now I have an idea that Joehermits had already suspected. My water! I thought it was safe and it even tested good but I did a series of water changes and that male (Mr Crabs) is much more active again. My other crab (small) Crabby never seemed affected. Maybe the female already had some damage which made her more vulnerable and sensitive to foul water or whatever. Water quality might be tied at number 1 with temp/humidity. Then good food variety 3rd. It makes sense to me know because she was by the freshwater quite a bit but not going in. And completely avoided the salt water. I feel bad. She probably wanted water!!! By the time I added a separate water bowl it was too late for her. Next time I see lethargy I will act quicker. I was just unsure if she was sick or if it was normal. It may be a lost cause but Now I know.
Edit: Motorcrab or Joehermits pointed at my water cant remember who. But it’s great to have help here!
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Re: What happened to my two PPs ?(What did they die of?)
Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2020 1:40 pm
by BlazeTheWeirdo
Links wrote: ↑Sat Feb 15, 2020 11:41 am
It sounds like you kept good care of their crabitat. I’ve only had my crab clan for 4 months and recently lost a medium size female. She and a medium male I got with her were very lethargic for a week or two. I couldn’t figure it out. Well now I have an idea that Joehermits had already suspected. My water! I thought it was safe and it even tested good but I did a series of water changes and that male (Mr Crabs) is much more active again. My other crab (small) Crabby never seemed affected. Maybe the female already had some damage which made her more vulnerable and sensitive to foul water or whatever. Water quality might be tied at number 1 with temp/humidity. Then good food variety 3rd. It makes sense to me know because she was by the freshwater quite a bit but not going in. And completely avoided the salt water. I feel bad. She probably wanted water!!! By the time I added a separate water bowl it was too late for her. Next time I see lethargy I will act quicker. I was just unsure if she was sick or if it was normal. It may be a lost cause but Now I know.
Edit: Motorcrab or Joehermits pointed at my water cant remember who. But it’s great to have help here!
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What was wrong with the water, if you don't mind my asking? I may have to check mine, but I don't know what to look for. My fresh water is mixed in a 16 oz bottle with one drop of prime. The saltwater is also mixed in a 16 oz bottle with one drop of prime and 3 tsp of instant Ocean. What do I need to check for?
Re: What happened to my two PPs ?(What did they die of?)
Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2020 10:15 pm
by Links
I check for ph
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
For some reason now my nitrites keep going up in the saltwater. I’m guessing that happened and compounded whatever problem that crab had.
I also check salinity in saltwater. Should be around 1.025 I think. I need to look it up again. Half cup of IO per gallon will be about that. But I just got calibrating liquid for my refractometer so I’ll see what it is after calibration.
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Re: What happened to my two PPs ?(What did they die of?)
Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 2:42 pm
by BlazeTheWeirdo
So... I made a mistake. I looked over at the tank today and found that Frank had resurfaced from the sub.
Apparently the crab that died was actually Phillipe and not Frank. Phillipe resurfaced without his shell and was smaller and paler than I remembered, so that's why I thought it was Frank. I will change the document since Phillipe had way different behaviors and conditions.
After Phillipe passed I checked the water dishes for leaks and found this on the outer layer of the freshwater dish.
My question is, can a molting crab get an infection from slime mold (I was told that's what this is and that it was harmless)
the last pic is of Phillipe in his last moments.
P.S.: Frank looks completely healthy and active.
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