Dead or molting

[hermiehomie345]

I just found one of my crabs appearing to be dead on the surface. He had been eating a lot and turning whitish so I'm pretty sure he was preparing to molt. I found him inside his shell, upside down with just a bit of his pincher visible. None of my crabs had ever surface molted so I immediately assumed the worst.I gently picked him up and turned him right side up to see if his body would fall out (at this point I still thought he was dead and was just in denial so I flipped him hoping he'd move and surprise me). While researching what to do after crab death, I read he may just be surface molting. I absolutely do not want to harm him if he is molting, but he looks very dead. He also is emitting a slight odor, but honestly it isn't the undeniable stench others mention and he also has some stinky food so I'm not confident enough to declare death. I just gently placed him in an isolation tank and I'm hoping for the best. Do I just wait for the stench (or hopefully signs of life)? Is there anything I should do to clean the main tank in case he did die in there? I definitely don't want my other crab getting sick from any left over bacteria.

[curlysister]

Yes, unfortunately, you just wait. You will know soon enough if he is dead or molting.

No, there is no need to clean the tank. There will not be anything harmful in the tank that would harm the other crabs.