HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I was looking for crickets or mealworms or some kind of freeze-dried protein for the crabs. The prices do seem steep for something I'm not sure they'll like! I just couldn't see spending almost 10 dollars for each.

Then I saw this mix (on sale at that) and it looked perfect! It's a freeze-dried mix of river shrimp, mealworms, and crickets - nothing else added. All small-sized and well mixed. It cost just a little more than 6 bucks, and I thought it would be a good way to figure out what they'll like.

58% Protein, 12% Fat, 10% Ash, 8.75% Moisture, 7% Fiber, 2.75% Phosphate, and 1.75% Calcium.

I just added it to both tanks, and I'm hoping they'll pig out overnight. I gave some of the river shrimp to my bettas and the loaches, and they went totally nuts over them which I'm hoping is a good sign.

Surprisingly it doesn't smell bad. I really thought it would stink since it's dried bugs, but it smells exactly like KMR. (It's a brand of powdered kitten formula.) It smells like protein-y powdered milk.

I know exactly what you mean about the freeze dried mealworms and crickets being super expensive. Thats why I've hesitated to buy them myself, but I'm leaning towards trying what you got or the grasshoppers, crickets and mealworms mix they sell too. I've also noticed that the frozen silversides are really expensive too. Let us know how the crabs like them, I want to get as much info as I can before I sink money into a food they might not like.

I got this a week ago and put 5 pieces in the tank and within an hour all of it was gone. Then I put 5 more pieces and by morning it was all gone!! My crabs love this and it has become a staple to their everyday meal. I am thinking about ordering a 1/2 pound of crickets or mealworms.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Crickets-Freeze-Dri ... 35a3b24da1

samurai_crab wrote:I know exactly what you mean about the freeze dried mealworms and crickets being super expensive. Thats why I've hesitated to buy them myself, but I'm leaning towards trying what you got or the grasshoppers, crickets and mealworms mix they sell too. I've also noticed that the frozen silversides are really expensive too. Let us know how the crabs like them, I want to get as much info as I can before I sink money into a food they might not like.

I gave the Flukers cricket, grass hopper, and meal worm mix to my Es. I was desperate since they hadn't been eating the fish proteins that I'd been leaving. They are really picky when it comes to their protein choices. They went absolutely nuts when I gave the flukers mix!!! It's the only food they will touch 3-4 days in a row!

Picked some of this up today, starting a trial run with it tonight. Hopefully the few that are up right now will like it. On a better note, the tank hasn't been completely void of life the past few nights. Now I've cursed myself by saying that though.

I'm really surprised at how they took to it!

I gave the PPs a huge amount, and after two days they've just about finished it! The shrimp were pretty much gone the first day, but they have been eating the mealworms and crickets. Normally the freeze-dried proteins will sit there for days, so I would definately say this is a hit! I see a different crab in the bowl whenever I walk past, so that's a great sign. (Bloodworms disappear faster, but I think that's just because Hannibal parks himself in the dish and eats every last piece himself.)

I can actually see where the Es have been picking at the mix! Yay!! Total success there! (Since they rarely touch anything meaty.)

Next round of taste-testing will involve the three ingredients being separated and served in different dishes so I can see which they like more. Probably should have done that first, but I was excited and just threw the food at them.

Awesome, I had an E swipe a cricket from the dish last night. So I know at least somebody likes them.

So I picked through the medley and tried the three items in separate dishes for the PPs. I gave them the same amount of shrimp and mealworms, and two crickets.

By far, the shrimp were the most popular - they disappeared overnight.

The mealworms were the second favorite - they were torn into the next night, and were scattered around the dish. It took them three nights to finish most of them, and I removed only a bit of leftovers that had gotten soggy.

The crickets took the most time - five days. They didn't touch them for two whole days, then one night they were whole in the dish, the next night they were dragged out of the dish, and when I cleaned the tank the following day they were completely missing. So it seems they are a "craving"-type food, one that they eat just when they're in the mood.

As for the Es - I just left the mix in there for six days all mixed together, and they made a serious dent in the amount! All the food had been picked at and all that was left was pretty much dust.

Definitely going to have to try that stuff out. Thanks for sharing.