HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I found this silky substance in my crabitat, it seems like spider silk, but it was in no way a web. It went from my eco earth and stretched to some cholla wood. Ive recently had a very small infestation of mites, not the harmful ones, and im not suree if this is typical of a dif invasive species or not

HPOfficeJetPro6978 wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 22, 2020 8:24 pm

I found this silky substance in my crabitat, it seems like spider silk, but it was in no way a web. It went from my eco earth and stretched to some cholla wood. Ive recently had a very small infestation of mites, not the harmful ones, and im not suree if this is typical of a dif invasive species or not

I'm not exactly sure, but it could be some type of mold. I got some once when I left some wet shrimp in the food bowl (thank goodness it didn't get everywhere). I would suggest cleaning it out as soon as you can and all the things it was on.

HPOfficeJetPro6978 wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 22, 2020 8:24 pm

I found this silky substance in my crabitat, it seems like spider silk, but it was in no way a web. It went from my eco earth and stretched to some cholla wood. Ive recently had a very small infestation of mites, not the harmful ones, and im not suree if this is typical of a dif invasive species or not

mold comes in basically all shapes, colors, textures and forms and it sounds like a kind of fungi. The way some fungi spreads is a very smooth way, looks like a spider web. I would clear it out asap!

it was the problem with the wood, i removed all wood and boiled it in salt water, however the cholla wood became gooey, does that go away? id rather they not eat it when i eventually put it back

Let the cholla dry out completely and that sliminess will disappear. It's a good idea to keep it off the substrate and in a dryer area of the tank if possible though!

i boiled it in sink water with some sea salt? is that gonna be a problem? just wanna make sure they wont eat it or anything

are there cholla wood that i can buy that is mold proof?

No, you can treat items with saltwater to make them resistant to mold but the heat and humidity will cause nearly everything to mold over eventually.

That's how I treat my wood items! Lots and lots of salt.

I've had cholla pieces that were nicely dried that didn't get moldy or slimey, and then I had a piece once that molded so badly I boiled it and ended up with a pot of jelly soup. It was gross.

I actually don't use cholla anymore because it is so fussy. I stick with salt-boiled cork and mopani, and I got this awesome real corkscrew vine from the pet store that is far enough off the substrate it hasn't given me problems.

Is there a particular molarity of salt solution i should use? Or does even a little work?


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On another note, to prevent bacterial growth in my substrate, would it be good to use salt water for that too? And is there a signature smell if there is bacterial hrowth? My substrate smells, its all eco earth, but it doesnt smell bad or anything

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