HCA: Hermit Crab Association

For people who are having trouble getting their crabs to eat new foods, my crabs have gone absolutely nuts over all the types of seaweed I’ve given them. I really recommend it not only because would seaweed be a common food for them in the wild but also because it’s loaded with vitamins and nutrients that crabs really need.

There’s an awesome company called Marine Coast Sea Vegetables that sells organically grown seaweed. You can find their products online or in most health food stores. The coolest things they sell are the shakers with dulse or kelp granules. The little pieces are perfect for crabs and they come in 1.5 oz bottles so you don’t have to buy a huge bag that the crabs will take forever to eat. You can order off their website and read everything you ever wanted to know and more about seaweed harvesting and nutrition.

www.seaveg.com

Sometime ago I read on LHC that seaweed has the highest level of natural iodine and that natural iodine is necessary for a healthy molt. (Not man made that is added to table salt, that would be toxic to the crabs) It said that crabs prefer the whole sheets of seaweed which are found in the fish dept. Fortunately, all my guys have had good molts,not sure if the seaweed had anything to do with it, but who know's?

Ever since reading about seaweed at LHC.com I've been looking for it.
This week I found 5 sheets for 2.99 on Ebay and the guy has lots of it.
Mine just arrived today so I can't wait to try it.
The seawood is supposed to be rich in many nutrients for our crabs.

What about the sheets used for sushi rolls? You can buy them at Asian markets. I'll have to go do some label reading, unless someone else has already checked this out.

The stuff you use to make sushi is a certain type of sea vegetable called nori, it’s great for crabs just like the rest of them!

I noticed the high iodine level on the nutrition facts and I wondered of that had any benefits, it’s great to know it’s helpful for molting.

Well I gound some old stale sushi sheets in the cupboard, but the only ingredient is seaweed, so that seems safe enough!

So I put some in the food dishes, but I can't tell if anyone tasted it last night. Maybe they know it's stale!

I dip nori in IO water before offering it to mine.

I'll try that tonight!

I always try the least messy alternatives first.

My crabs tend to prefer dulse over nori but I've never tried the saltwater thing, that's a good idea. Dulse has a very salty taste (at least for humans) so maybe giving nori some of that would help out. They'll still eat tons of either one, I just notice a little but of preference.

Has anyone had any experience with kelp? It's just about the only one I've never tried and I'm wondering if it will go over well.