HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi all,

I had a question about the substrate in water bowls, which may be obvious to some but I'm very confused! I've seen nice big, deep pools where people have rocks, gravel, wood etc. at the base so that the crabs have something to grip, and I was wondering if these were siliconed on, or if they are simply resting there? If so, it either seems like a lot of work to be removing all the stuff from the bowls before cleaning, or I am missing something here. Could someone please enlighten me?! Thanks.

I have crushed coral in my pools but I have cycled filtered pools. When I just had normal bowls I didn't have anything in them. The coral is just on the bottom.

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That makes sense to have it on the base when using filtered pools Kellie, thanks for your response. I forgot to ask also, what have people found works best with pools for encouragement? I'm planning for a larger salt water pool: glass, rectangular, aerated, a ramp with rocks attached to it (don't know how...), rocks and gravel siliconed to the base (any ideas on how to smear aquarium silicone out over the base and dump gravel onto it without it drying/sticking to the spreader in the process?), a few climbing pieces e.g. Barnacles placed in.

In my pools (Tupperware with ramps) the freshwater one has aquarium gravel in the bottom because they make hardly any mess with the sand in there, and it's pretty easy to quickly rinse out. My saltwater pool however is more frequently used for swimming so I just have a few small shells and unusable shells in the bottom which is also really easy to rinse out.


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Like @purpleperson, my pools are made from plastic storage containers with craft mesh ramps. Both have river rock (pebbles) and a few flat scallop-like shells just loose on the bottom; very simple to clean as I'll just dump everything out, clean it all in hot water and dump it back in! The pools are doubled containers: one container is set into the substrate with about 1/2" above ground and has a layer of marbles atop which the second water-filled container sits -- makes it very easy for cleaning as the top pool can be lifted out and reseated without having to re-dig a hole in the substrate each time.

I used to have those paint tray water dishes, because I love the one sloped end of those. I had pebbles glued to the sloped end and gravel on the bottom for traction. When I cleaned those all I did was put the gravel in a colander, rinse it for a minuet or two under hot water, rinse them in a dish or declor water and put them when the tray was clean. Easy, peezy.

I currently do not have pebbles in my water dishes. I have two large pebbles on the bottom for traction and wood for them to climb out.

What I have in my tank are betta cups (the cups that bettas come in from the petshop, they are also deep enough for my crabs to fully submerge themselves in and they have a plastic plant to easily climb out of) one cup is in the substrate with a layer of glass pebbles, then I put a second cup on top of the glass pebbles and filled it with water. So when I go to clean my fresh/saltwater dishes I don't have to clean rocks because the rocks are in the the first cup. I hope that makes sense!

In the large tanks I used to use 2.5 gallon tanks but since the one magically broke and flooded the tank (not to include how much space they took up) I now use Tupperware containers with the little plastic craft squares as a ramp. It's much easier to maintain and leaves more room in the tank for the crabs to dig. And doubling like crabinski says does make it so much easier to clean and move them.

Thanks very much for all your replies, they have all given varying ideas. However, I still have a few questions.

1. May I ask why a lot of people opt for Tupperware? I agree that if you get the stronger stuff it may be harder to crack, but after a while - especially with the UVB/A lights that some owners have, I would think they may become slightly brittle. As mentioned in my post above, I use 500ml microwave safe *glass* bowls that are quite thick which I feel safer using.

2. Most of you described having rocks that you dump out and rinse or just chuck back in un-rinsed afterwards. I'm thinking, if it was done well, could I silicone rocks/pebbles etc. on permanently, but make sure to leave it relatively open so that everything could be scrubbed clean when needed to avoid bacterial blooms in certain areas?

Bonk wrote:1. May I ask why a lot of people opt for Tupperware? I agree that if you get the stronger stuff it may be harder to crack, but after a while - especially with the UVB/A lights that some owners have, I would think they may become slightly brittle. As mentioned in my post above, I use 500ml microwave safe *glass* bowls that are quite thick which I feel safer using.

Ive been using mine for quite awhile, and I've never had problems with them getting brittle. However I do not have uvb lights. I'm on my second set of Tupperware right now, and I only bought a new set because I wanted something bigger. The other ones are a little scratched up but they aren't brittle or anything like that, and I used them for years. I think a lot of us use Tupperware because it's inexpensive, easy to find in many shapes and sizes, and it is really easy to attach ramps to them for the crabs to get in and out of. The crabitat at my school also uses glass bowls (I'm in charge of it) but we don't need really deep dishes for the crabs there as they are still teeny/small. Personally I see them both as good options, but I do prefer Tupperware because it's just easier.

As for silicone I can't really help you since I don't really use it in my own tat. There are people who silicone rocks and stuff to their bowls though.


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I've had the same dollar store tupperware bowls for 2 years. No issues.

I have Kritter keeper pools in my largest tank with plexi glass ramps. I siliconed river rocks so that they could climb in and out. But those are filtered.

In my 55g I have plastic Tupperware/crayon box pools. I used mesh as ramps and have larger river rocks in the bottom of those. When I clean those I dump the water, wash the river rocks and just put them back in. They are not siliconed. I am thinking I may silicone them in and keep them a bit apart like you mentioned. I actually have two containers for each pool. One that stays in the sand and one that sits inside it that's filled with water. This is makes it easier if the pool were to leak, it would have that second pool barrier to go into and not flood the tank. It's also nice because I am not dealing with the sand going everywhere when I am taking the pools in and out.



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My bowls are also from the dollar tree. Plastic Halloween dishes that I picked up I don't even remember how long ago. They've held up great.

I have plastic needle point canvas in mine, with fake plants attached. Easy to remove, easy to wash.

Bonk wrote:Thanks very much for all your replies, they have all given varying ideas. However, I still have a few questions.

1. May I ask why a lot of people opt for Tupperware? I agree that if you get the stronger stuff it may be harder to crack, but after a while - especially with the UVB/A lights that some owners have, I would think they may become slightly brittle. As mentioned in my post above, I use 500ml microwave safe *glass* bowls that are quite thick which I feel safer using.

2. Most of you described having rocks that you dump out and rinse or just chuck back in un-rinsed afterwards. I'm thinking, if it was done well, could I silicone rocks/pebbles etc. on permanently, but make sure to leave it relatively open so that everything could be scrubbed clean when needed to avoid bacterial blooms in certain areas?

My dollar store plastic containers are going strong at one year: no cracking or hardening but the SW has dulled the plastic in that pool a bit. Several crabbers have made gorgeous pools with siliconed-on pebbles, shells and aquarium plants. I just like the option of being able to re-do the look of the pools at a moment's notice by keeping all of the inclusions loose.

OK, great. Thanks so much everyone for all your help - I know this can bit a bit of a repetitive topic if I can figure out photos I'll be sure to attach some.