HCA: Hermit Crab Association

So I have a live plant in my tank and it is taking a lot of abuse and I would like to keep it healthy without hurting my crabs.
My plant is in a normal plastic pot- and in another one (sorta like double bagged) so if I need to pull it out it won't disturb any one buried near it. It has a little bit of normal soil by its roots but the top is covered in the sand ee mix.

What I would like to do is maybe take a very small amount of liquid fertilizer mixed w water and remove like the top 2 inches of sub and just drizzle a little bit into the soil root area. Not a whole lot as I wouldn't want it to leaks down into the rest of the sub.
I could also get one of those small fertilizer sticks and just shove it down in there. They usually dissolve pretty quick and I don't think my crabs would dig it up. They haven't tore up the ground at the very base of the plant yet. They always go to the outside of the pot area.

Just would like some opinions on this I guess.

Also and ideas about sticking my mini orchid plant in the moss pit? Its a small plastic container with a few bark chips for the roots. I would leave it in the container and just stick it in the pit. I can easily change the moss and the plant can just chill.
Ideas on that too?


It's the big long leafed one on the right

I have no idea about plants, but i just wanted to submit that i believe the orchid would die supafast.
And if i'm wrong, i will punish myself by buying a dozen orchids and fortifying the tat with them!
Btw my first thought regarding fertilizing your big, beautiful plant was: is there organic fertilizer? But then i was like: isn't that what eggshells do? Then i was all: i prob shouldn't say anything because every plant i ever had dies supafast.


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Is that a Corn plant? (Not the vegetable!) I don't see why a little bit would hurt, as long as it stays contained in the pot. Maybe use a more organic fertilizer. There used to be one that was fish related (I have used Miraacle Gro for so long, I can't remember all the others!) Just my thoughts!

Beautiful tat, btw!

The crabs will likely fertilize the plant for you. They leave a lot of droppings in the pots I put in. I have also put a few rabbit turds in the pot and let them decompose. I understand that some crabs will consider this a delicacy but mine haven't so far.

I don't know how long that plant has been in the tank, but the crabs will definitely take a toll on it. I have about a dozen 4" plants that I rotate through my tank. I also alternate with barley, pea, lettuce, sunflower sprouts which they beat/eat to a pulp. It takes 2-3 months for a plant to recover from being in the tank 2-3 weeks. The only exception to that is pothos, which the crabs leave alone.

Haha well I'm glad for the feedback! The plant has great color and looks so happy- and then I noticed the bottom few leave looked like a herd of crabs beat the poo outta it. So I'm trying to stay one step ahead of my plant.
I can't remember what type of plant it was. I saved the little card it came with but some one else threw it out on me...
Hermieluv1 there is a fish base fertilizer and I think that's a great idea- I just wonder if it's fishy stinky will my crabs be more apt to dig in the pot to try to find where the smell is coming from?

Maybe I'll just use a little bit of organic something and cover it back up with more sub.

It's a draceana, and the bottom leaves do brown and drop off as the plant grows. They're sometimes sold as a false palm tree when bigger becaue they look similar. It's the same species as lucky bamboo.

It looks a lot like the one I had in Puck's Viv, Dracaena fragrans (aka corn plant).

Sounds about right! My crabs love to climb on it!