HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hey again. I just had my last two hermit crabs die this week from unknown causes. One went commando and died three days later after refusing to return to his shell. The other died from an unsuccessful molt. I’ve had two crabs die within a year of having them (one of them not being the one this week), so I’m not doing too well.

Tank conditions have been perfect for all of them since May 2020. But the way I got their fresh water changed. Instead of buying overpriced fresh water from the pet store, I started giving them filtered water from the fridge. No added chemicals to remove chlorine, no boiling. I don’t know what is filtered out of the water exactly, but I assumed it would be fine for them. Death count before then was at two and now it’s up to five, so I’m thinking it’s the water.

Is it though? If so, what kind of cheap alternative can I use? I was thinking of buying Great Value Spring Water by the gallons, or some other kind of spring water. What do you think?

How long had you had the crabs? They are suseptible to PPS (post purchase syndrome) until at least their first molt. Often it is nothing that we do or don't do.

The cheapest fresh water, is to use your tap water and treat it with a dechlorinator such as Prime (there are other safe/ appropriate brands as well). Then you will also use that dechlorinated tap water and add marine salt such as Instant Ocean (again, there are other brands as well) to make your salt water. Those are pretty much your safest/ most appropriate/ cheapest waters!

Water filters are good at removing big suspended particles like naturally occurring minerals (which crabs need in their water), but not chemical treatments that stick around like chlorine or chloramine. All water should be treated with a dechlorinator like Seachen Prime for safety, as even bottled water can be nothing more than treated tap water since there aren't regulations on what can be used or labeled.

curlysister wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 15, 2021 10:59 pm

How long had you had the crabs? They are suseptible to PPS (post purchase syndrome) until at least their first molt. Often it is nothing that we do or don't do.

The cheapest fresh water, is to use your tap water and treat it with a dechlorinator such as Prime (there are other safe/ appropriate brands as well). Then you will also use that dechlorinated tap water and add marine salt such as Instant Ocean (again, there are other brands as well) to make your salt water. Those are pretty much your safest/ most appropriate/ cheapest waters!

Each one survived their first molt. I had one for 1 month, second one for 10 months, and the third one for almost 3 years.

I don't worry about salt water cuz I just normally buy that from the pet store. I think it's too risky to try and create salt water cuz so many things could go wrong with human error. It's moreso the fresh water I don't buy cuz I know there are cheaper alternatives. I mean... it's normal water with no chlorine and other additives removed. I've heard that using prime and other dechlorinators could lead to issues with the crabs (especially if it's excessive or the prime expires). I've also heard that boiling the water can remove chlorine from the water.