What To Feed ?

[citiliviey]

I'm tired of the store bought food, I rarely think they eat it anyways . What can I feed my babies . I want them happy, healthy, and nutriented . (And do I add calcium powder to the fruits or veggies they eat ? I add it to their store food .)

[CallaLily]

You can offer a variety of fresh foods that you probably already have in the kitchen. As far as calcium, I always like to leave cuttlebone available in the tank as well as crushed oyster shells and eggshells at all times. A few threads to help get you started are Kilimanjaro's Guide to Hermit Crab Nutrition and the Safe Food List.

[kornchaser]

I'm tired of the store bought food, I rarely think they eat it anyways . What can I feed my babies . I want them happy, healthy, and nutriented . (And do I add calcium powder to the fruits or veggies they eat ? I add it to their store food .)

Some people think that calcium is a "sick crab food" but it's not and calcium should be a part of their every day feeding life. Someone has a cuttle bone stuck into their sub and the crabs nom on that all the time and I believe it never goes bad (not sure who though). But commercial food isn't something you want in your tat anyways, whether they eat it or not. Being scavengers in the wild they need lots of variety. The links that Callalily posted should help a LOT.


Mommy of 11 PP babies:
Poseidon (Sid), Octavius, Matty, Junior, Aries, Kaylee, Turbo, Adrian, Pepper, Flower and Winifred.

[citiliviey]

Thank you both very much, this website is so helpful, I love it !

[Crabinski]

As others have already said, a variety of fresh foods is a great way to go, offering a bit of various veggies, fruits, raw/cooked unseasoned seafood and meat, eggs (uncooked egg white served in the half-shell is always a hit), etc. Basically whatever you're eating, minus the sauces and seasonings. You'll have to experiment to see what interests them -- my guys are very picky so fresh foods are usually hit or miss.

I like to keep a small bowl of dry mix in the tank at all times and make my own from these ingredients: Fluker's Aquatic Turtle Blend (freeze dried mealworms, crickets and shrimp), eggshells, cuttlebone, Wardely's Dried Shrimp for Hermit Crabs. Just grind up the ingredients with a small mortar and pestle until it's a coarse powder. It stores very well and ensures that you always have something healthful to offer the crabs. I'll vary the blend by adding a bit of 10-grain hot cereal (uncooked) or ground unflavored oatmeal to the bowl a few times a week. Several of the recommended vendors on the HCA Shopping page offer dried flowers, dried leaves and blends of powdered protein and veggies/fruits/flowers. Again, what your crabs might like, mine may not.

[Sydthesquid345]

Normally I look at dinner and pick out a few safe foods from the list and put them in the tank before they get seasoned and all that