HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I haven't been able to find the Gardenia plant or flower on any of the Safe or Unsafe food lists. Does anyone know if any parts of it are safe for Hermies?

Most likely, it hasn't be trialed yet. You can always give it a trial!

To do this, first make sure it doesn't have any toxicity known to man. Make sure that it is also not used as an herbal pesticide or insecticide. After you've done that, select a large portion of that plant (usually a stalk with a flower on it) and put it in the 'tat by itself with no other foods.

After you've done that, you can see if the crabs eat it or not. They have a good way of knowing if plants are bad or good for them. If it isn't eaten, it's most likely unsafe. If it isn't eaten, I would trial it a second and third time, and then give yourself a three-month break period to see if anything weird pops up (deaths, strange molts, etc.).

Good luck!

Thanks! I'll give that a try. I think my Gardenia bush might be past it's flowering time, but I could try the leaves to start with.

Awesome! Tell us how it goes. If it's successful, I'll be glad to add it to the Harvestables list.

I tried a small Gardenia twig with a few leaves in each of my 3 tanks (two 10 gal, one 55 gal). After 2 days, there were no signs of nibbles on the leaves.

No flowers on the bush right now so I'll have to try those another time.