HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi everyone! I've had 4 hermies for a little over a week now. They're currently in a 10g tank but I'm getting a 29g set up as quickly as possible to get them moved over. 3 have been buried since the day we brought them home so we'll move them over as they start to resurface.

I do have some questions about water....

I'm using Prime for dechlorinating and Instant Ocean for saltwater. I bought a few gallon jugs of distilled water and the Prime dosing is a bit confusing. After Googling, it looks like 1-2 drops of Prime will be enough for 1 gallon - is that correct? Is there such a thing as TOO much Prime if I accidentally do more than a couple drops (I'm waiting for an eye dropper to come in the mail so I can make sure it's as accurate as possible)?

If I pre-make a few jugs, will those go bad after a certain amount of time? Will the Prime "wear off" (not sure how else to phrase that) if I don't use the jug fast enough? Do most people pre-make water or make it on the fly when needed? The dechlorinating and salt water mixing seems to be time consuming so I can't imagine doing it everyday for water changes, but will if that's what's best.

With the larger tank, I'm working on setting up bigger pools for them with the craft mesh to get in and out. I'm also working on making a few rope bridges and whatnot to make some second level areas. I heard I should soak the rope and twine (100% jute) that I'll be making the bridge out of in saltwater. How long should it soak? Also, is it safe to have second level areas above the water pools? If I put some rope over it, is that dangerous for them in case they fall in?

Last question (for now haha).... how do I know when I need to mist the substrate? Do people typically just stay on a particular cadence of misting it every other day or do you reach in and grab some substrate to see how wet it is?

Thank you!

I use 2 drops per gallon. The water might be fine with extra, I just wouldn’t try it until you are 100% certain it’s fine. Hermit crabs can be pretty sensitive:)

Also it depends on your substrait. I personally use a mixture of eco-earth and play sand, and that mixture should have the dampness and consistency of a sand castle.

Prime is safe to be overdosed, and according to seachem (the manufacturer of prime) it can be overdosed by 5x. When overdosing, you're really just wasting product rather than harming the crabs.

Prime does wear off in terms of binding to nitrogenous bases (like ammonia and chloramine) so its best dosed when you add it directly to the pools, like adding the water and then adding a drop of prime to the pools. But honestly, I don't think it matters *that* much compared to crabs.


Many do like to soak plant based materials in salt to combat mould from developing, and generally a saline solution where you leave it for a good number of minutes - say 5 - 30 mins - would ensure its well saturated, and then leave it to dry throughly overnight. But honestly, the duration of soaking doesn't matter.

(And no, you can add climbing areas over the pools. If they happen to fall in, they will be able to get out as long as you have ways for them to get out... which should already be in there in the first place IMO.)

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it's better to use spring or tap water for the fresh water. The IO salt added to the water will replace the lack of minerals in the distilled water. But the fresh water will be lacking in minerals if only distilled water is used.
Welcome to crabbing!

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk