stress coat

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 10:43 am

what will putting stress coat do to the crabs? My brother does it and i told him not to but he said that until I can show him reasonable evidence on what it will do to the crabs its safe in his book. He says if fish can have so can crabs. So what will it do to crabs?

DustAndEchoes · Post by **DustAndEchoes** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 10:46 am

i think stress coat is kinda like lotion to condition their gills, it's not a water condtioner like a dechlorinator

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 10:50 am

thats what i thought but i think it does something else casue your not supposed to to use dechlorinatore that has stress coat stuff in it so i was just wondering.

DustAndEchoes · Post by **DustAndEchoes** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 10:57 am

I was (accidentally) using decloritanor that had a slime coat in it for months...as soon as i switched to something better, they became active with in a week.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 10:59 am

does the stress coat do the slime coat thingy?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 11:32 am

Yes it does.

Angela

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 11:42 am

and what does the slime coat thingy do to them?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 11:51 am

The slime coat conditions their gills and exo. As far as what it does to them if they drink it, Im not sure. I am assuming that the aloe in the stress coat is probably not good to take internally. Ill see if I can find any more info on it and post again later.

Angela

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 12:17 pm

Remember that none of that is fact, and is not proven. And stress coat is a water conditioner as well. Stress coat MIGHT be conditioning their gills. I dont think this is true. I stopped using stress coat long ago, and there was a very long thread discussing if it was really good for the crabs or not. In this area, there are basically two lines of thought:

1. That stress coat and weekly baths are great for the crabs, and that it helps them in molting etc.

2. That weekly bathing and stress coat is not beneficial, and that it may actually be harming the crabs. The reasoning for this is that when you put a crab in the bathwater, all of its shell water is replaced by the water in the bath. Each species of crab has a certain internal salinity level, and if I remember right, the shell water tends to match that salinity level. When replaced with bath water, that salinity is not normal anymore, possibly causing the crab a small amount of stress. Also, there is stress coat in that water. We all are told not to put it in their drinking water, but after a bath in it, it remains in the shell water for up to several hours after the bath, something that can be potentially harmful.
Members of this camp tend to not give their crabs baths either, but instead provide large pools of water for the crabs to enter if they so desire, eliminating a weekly stressful situation.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 12:23 pm

Something I failed to mention that Dions post reminded me of is that I am one that does not bathe my crabs. The have both fresh and salt water pools to bathe in. The only time I bathe them is when I bring them home, they get an IO bath in case they have any buggies, and then a stress coat bath and then straight into ISO. When they are ready to go into the main tank, then I take all of the old guys from the main that are up and all of the news guys and they all get a stress coat bath. I do this so that they all smell the same. Other than those instances, I never bathe

Angela

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 12:29 pm

An alternative to using stress coat in the introduction bath is to just use salt water, Which is actually better at getting rid of mites. You may also want to put new crabs in an iso tank for a few days before introducing them, if you are worried about mites, etc...

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 12:35 pm

Hi Dion, yes the new guys always get a salt water bath, IO, and then I give them a stress coat bath. Then I ISO them for however long it takes for them to start feeling comfy

Angela

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 12:40 pm

I understand all the batheing situatuations i was wondering casue hes uses it for their regular drinking water and he refuses to chnge it out every other day he says that their is no proof saying that they need to change it every other day just people saying that and he can do what he wants not what he needs too and until i can prove to him that their is a reason not use stress coat to dechlorinate their water and that he needs to change it out often. hes says that they'll be fine but he also had 5 crabs dye this summer so i really dont know whaere to go with him.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 12:46 pm

*Ahhhh, run on sentance attack!* (just messin around)

In all seriousness though, stress coat should never be used for drinking water. Yes it is a dechlorinator, but it has extra stuff in it. It is designed for fish to live in, not for crabs to drink. This is key.

As for fresh water, it is recommended daily. That is just something that is nice to have, stagnant water can get gross....

He is right, though, they are his pets, although what he is doing is ignorant and wrong, they are his, and he can do what he chooses, within the boundaries of animal cruelty laws, which generally do not cover small critters such as hermit crabs....

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 3:22 pm

but can someone tell me y slime coat is bad in the crabs drinking water? I know that it is but I dont know why. I am trying to get my brother to change his ways about taking care of his crabs, but i cant do this unless I can present him with HARD, COLD, FACTS. SO that is what I am asking. I would research it myself but i dont know where to start. (or how even(im not good at this kind of thing so i look to forums for help.))

HCA: Hermit Crab Association

stress coat

stress coat

Stress coat benefits are not proven