Need Help with Tank Setup - Am I Doing This Right???

[Hermias_mom]

Anyone who can, please help me with my crabitat! I will be TOTALLY grateful for any and all help! I am a new crab owner (today will be a week) and have read all the care guides on this Forum and several others, but I have SO many specific questions. This is a long post, and I'm sorry about that, but it all kind of ties together, and I want to get things right. I did everything backwards, of course, first obtaining the crab, and then learning that the pet store assistant was misinformed when she told me how to care for it. So I am trying to create a proper crabitat in a hurry, because I know my crab (Hermia) needs to molt. When I brought her home she was the most active crab there, and crawled on us, and willing to come out of her shell often. For the most part, she still behaves that way, although she spent much of the day after I changed out her substrate in her fake coconut hut. I just recently learned I should be isolating her for a month (thoughts?). My kids will be sad. But Hermia's health is more important, so if I have to do it, I'll do it.

Question 1: Does the darkening of her color from the petshop to now (1 week post purchase) mean she's healthier? (Is this the right forum location for this question? All the rest of my questions are about her habitat, which influences her, so I'm asking here.)

Crab condition, activity, and diet: She is a medium caribbean (PP) crab in a 1.125" diameter shell (shell height ~ 1"). It's a really rough looking turbo petholatus, so I'm thinking she's had her shell since before being caught. She sticks out a bit when all pulled in - it's looking a bit small now that I know what I"m looking at. When purchased, she was light pale peachy with purple highlights, and purple really strong only in center of her big claw. After 5 days with me, (3 not eating, then she ate, like 1/8"-1/4" cubed of walnut, she turned dark purple on most of her legs, really dark on her big pincher, and the purple markings on her carapice and body darkened. Pinky peach body got darker pinky peach, but still pinky peach. She might have eaten some of the dried oak leaves I pulled off my tree out front, and some of the sphagnum moss, honey, fresh daylily leaves, or boiled eggshells, but I can't tell. She wouldn't touch the scrambled egg (no table salt, microwaved in ceramic), celery w/leaves, crushed/whole almond, soaked wheat berries, quinoa, cantalope, apple, or canned river shrimp. This is what I've fed her over the last week, 2-3 selections per day. I left the walnut in two days since she was eating it, then replaced it with a new one, since she seemed to really like it.

Conditions at Petstore: 1" substrate with wood shavings, 4-5 crabs in 15 gal(?) breeder tank, around a bunch of aquariums, maybe 50% humidity?? and 65-70F, huddled in a fake coconut hut over a heating mat (under the tank) in dry calcium sand. [Incidentally, the first petstore assistant I talked to couldn't even find the crabs that were in the tank and told me to come back next week when they got their next shipment in. Yes, this should have been a clue! But hey, I was uninformed and my kids really wanted one. I happened to talk to another assistant later who could find the crabs, and sounded like she knew what she was talking about, and I trusted her. Second mistake. The salespeople were genuinely well intentioned, but seriously misinformed.]

My crabitat:
Ten gallon glass aquarium tank with large mesh reptile lid, plastic wrap covering the top, closed up or opened to moderate humidity. 2 dishes, 1 marine saltwater (instant ocean, mixed 2T/liter) and one fresh water declorinated/conditioned with Prime, they are 4" diameter and 1.25" deep glazed ceramic dog dishes. I've put glass pebbles over plastic lattice (from needlepoint) on the bottom of the bowls to give traction, a 2"x1.5" egg-shaped sea sponge in the fresh water and a 2"x1" egg-shaped onyx stone in the saltwater dish. I washed aquarium & food bowls w/soap and water, then rinsed w/vinegar/tap water mix and dried out the aquarium. I then rinsed the food bowls with conditioned water (Prime water conditioner) prior to filling them. My current temperature is 74-80 gradient (hot water bottle against the glass on one side), and relative humidity is around 80% I plan to keep temps from 75-85 with a target of 80F, and humidity at 70-85% RH with a target of 80% I heard that humidity over 85% can cause them to have trouble breathing, so that is my upper planned limit. Is this true?

Substrate:
My poor crab went through a substrate change on day 3 (changed from All Living Things Calcium Sand, marketed for Hermit Crabs) and is now living in 5:1 AquaQuartz #20 pool sand/coco fiber (.45-.55 mm sand with .49 average particle diameter pool sand/EcoEarth compressed coco fiber brick expanded with marine saltwater mixed 2T per liter).

Question 2: Where should I put my under tank heater, what size should I use, and how do I fit 6 inches of substrate into my 10"W x11"H x20"L (10 gallon) tank along with the two water dishes and still not run the sand up over the glass where the heater is adhered?
I bought a Medium ZooMed under tank heater for a 30-40 gallon aquarium, but I think it will be too big, even with the thermostat I will use to control its temperature. It takes up the entire side of the tank. Can I use a Small one? The 2W 4x5" UTH I had stuck right in the middle of the end of the tank for three days didn't make a dent in the temperature of the aquarium, so I'm afraid to go too low on wattage. My main concern with the Medium heater, besides worrying it will over heat my crab when it is on, is that I have to make a crazy steep surface on my sand to have about 2-3 inches of substrate near the heater (below where it's attached on the glass) and 6 inches on the other side. I ended up putting the freshwater bowl into the sand right next to the heater smack up against the 4" fake coconut hideaway, and the saltwater one up high over the 6" substrate, and ended up having 6" substrate for maybe half of my tank.

Question 3: Would 1/3-1/2 of my ten gallon tank being filled with 6" of substrate provide enough substrate for my one crab (eventually 2) to burrow and molt?

Question 4: Should I be worried about additional salt in the substrate? How much additional salt in the substrate (from saltwater bowl spillage, etc) can the crabs handle before I should remove, wash, and dry the substrate again? I used a piece of live rock coral to help my crab get into the saltwater dish, but the coral sucked up ~6 cubic inches of my marine salt water and radiated humidity into the tank like crazy (I saw it up to 91% RH so I pulled back the plastic wrap to dehumidify a bit and removed the coral from the saltwater dish.) My coral was resting on the substrate as well as extending into the water dish, so I am wondering if the water was wicked from the substrate as well, or if more salt got into the substrate from the coral. How worried should I be?

Question 5: Is my substrate the right consistency? How do you know if you've added too much saltwater when creating a 5:1 poolsand/cocofiber substrate? The playsand where I live is questionable and dusty, and I didn't feel like risking silicosis, so I bought pool filter sand. However, the finest cut was 0.45-0.55 mm, and it seems somewhat course to me. I had to add what I consider to be a lot of saltwater to get it to sandcastle consistency, and it still seems to separate when I push a hole into it sideways more than a finer particle size sand would, maybe because of the bigger particle size, and am worried that I've added to much saltwater to get it to hold together. The cocofiber was previously expanded with saltwater and squeezed out as described in the forum Care Sheet prior to mixing with the sand.

Question 6:How much UVB light (hrs per day) does my crab need? If my fluorescent/UVB combo bulb says reptiles should be at least six inches away and I'm putting the light through large (pointed oval type, not the square type) wire mesh screen (~20% reduction in UVB due to screen), should I be worried about sunburning my crab? How can I prevent sunburning myself and my kids? Does my crab need more than a 6" standoff on the UVB light? SHould I build a 2-3" standoff for the light on top of the mesh hood - is it worth my time and is a 2-3" standoff appropriate? Roughly half of the crabitat is right at six inches away from the light or slightly closer due to the 6" of substrate. I am leaving the plastic wrap off about 1/3 of the mesh top for humidity control, and I am concerned about the UVB light going into the crabitat and then coming back out the top and sunburning myself and my children, since there is no plastic or glass to filter it out.

Question 7: Does my crab need 12 hrs of daylight a day? Do I have to use a light for this or is natural light enough? I open the blinds across the room daily, but we are in the Southeastern USA, where it is hot and humid most of the time, but often cloudy.

[GotButterflies]

It really is an old practice about isolating them while molting. That is not necessary. As long as tank conditions are appropriate, they can molt in their own tank. However, hermit crabs are social creatures. They do prefer a species buddy. She went through a lot to get where she is now...Captured from the wild, held in overcrowded cages, shipped, and then put in a pet store, and now to your house. Yes, she could have been a little stressed out to say the least. Make sure honey is raw, organic honey. Hermits are sensitive to fertilizers and pesticides, so try to feed organic as much as you can. They are really like toddlers. You can offer food one day, them not like it, offer it a week later and they will. They have a food pyramid: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 25&t=92554 That really needs to be followed. What they eat will determine their colors for their next molt. You can use press n seal to hold humidity in as well. I honestly prefer glass tops though. They hold humidity better. Hermits need the humidity to breathe. Tank heat and humidity need to be at a minimum of 80/80. High humidity is never a problem for them breathing. It can only cause mold to grow, which is not a problem for them either, just for you. Most of us here use tupperware containers for our pools. You need a UTH under tank heater (but we don't put them under the tank). They are made for reptiles. We put them on the back of our tanks. www.reptilebasics.com has great ones. Substrate should be a minimum of 6 inches or 3 times deeper than your crab...whichever is deeper.

Ah..you bought the zoo med heater. Okay. Well, some use those. I bought those too when I first started. That is fine for a 10 gallon. Just put it on the back of your tank or on the side. It will be okay to go under the sand a tad. Those zoomeds don't get that hot. You need a digital gauge so you know the actual temperature. I prefer the Acurite ones on Amazon.

Being that you only have 1 crab, it just needs to be 3 times deeper than your largest crab or 6 inches, whichever is deeper. I would try to upgrade from a 10 gallon if you can. Petco runs their $1/gallon sales on occasion, and then there is always Craigslist, Letgo, OfferUp, Bookoo...

No, as long as you don't add additional salt into the substrate it will be fine. The coral in the water dish/is fine too. The coral might get munched on for calcium. I have a piece in one of my crabitats as well. Humidity can never be too high. These guys come from tropic weather.

Could you make a sandcastle in your sub? If so, it's the right consistency. You want your substrate to hold form so you crabbie can build tunnels and molting caves as needed. Add more sand/ee if your sub is too wet. If the sub is too dry and if you are worried about salt content, just add fresh water to make it more wet. Obviously no crab can be down while doing this

UVB does not go through screen or glass...so pretty much a waste there. I would not worry about getting sunburned. You would need to be under that light a lot. Crabs need 12 hours day, 12 hours night. I think natural light is fine, but they need light for sure. Some people use flourescnent light. As far as the distance of your UVB light, I would be more concerned about the crab's eyes getting affected.

Good luck! We are here for you!

[Hermias_mom]

Thanks so much GotButterflies! Your information was really helpful!!! You can probably tell I've been a little stressed. Crab expenses were seriously NOT in my budget. I've thought about just giving her up, but for some reason I really care about this little crab.

This crab was marketed to me as a low-maintenance pet. I know how much work fish are, and hampsters, and turtles carry salmonella, so they were out, and snakes, no thank you. I was looking for a pet requiring slightly more interaction than a rock. My sister had hermit crabs twice growing up that she kept in a critter keeper. They both died after a year and a half or so, and all the crab owners I've known have had them in two inches of dry soil with a 1/2" water dish and mist them occasionally. We never knew anything was wrong with the way they were being treated. We thought they had a lifespan of 1-3 years. We didn't know they needed to molt, or that they needed to change shells. I had no idea of how much effort and money I'd have to put in to create an appropriate habitat for this crab!!!

The culture we live in that allows such misinformation to be perpetuated astounds me. I looked up hermit crab on wikipedia, which sent me to crabstreetjournal, and eventually I ended up here. I really wish I had done so BEFORE I purchased my crab. I am SO GLAD that there are people around who know what to do and are willing to share. Thanks a BUNCH!

[LadyJinglyJones]

Heya! Welcome to the wide world of crabbing - from here on out, your crab(s) will own you. It's just their way.

Also, questions are awesome.

I basically second GB and just wanted to add, for the sheer pedantry of it, that Turbo petholatus is a species from the red sea through the Indian Ocean & as far as Australia... so it's probably not the shell she started off with. Not that that's at all important.... but the shell of choice for wild PPs is Cittarium pica, which have been reduced and even extirpated from much of their former range. Which is rather sad.

Also wanted to add that doubling up tuperware containers with a layer of pebbles between layers allows you to remove one pool for cleaning while the second remains in place... this makes cleaning easier & prevents uncovering crabs that molt under or next to submerged water dishes. It is a good idea - especially if you have submerged bowls.

I wouldn't worry about too much light - they have their shells & the option to dig, which they'd do in the wild. Just provide a dark hide.

Just a thought about heat - if the heater covers more sand than seems wise, can you create an airspace between the pad and the glass along the bottom? Just so there's not direct contact. You don't want to bend the heater, but a narrow gap where the sand begins could help to prevent the sub drying? It's sort of what I did with a heater that was too deep for a temporary setup.

If you really feel that the coarser grain is problematic, try adding a bit of finer grain, or just more coco fiber. If you notice there's been a lot of spillage from your salt water over time, you can swap out a handful or two with new stuff... if the new sub is a bit drier than the sub around it, you'll lose excess moisture (if you think it's starting to look too soupy). Unless you develop a bacterial bloom, I dont think you have to worry too much about sub. Also, adding a bit of crushed oyster shell (you can get it in the bird section of a pet store usually) to the sub provides your crab with easy calcium sources.

Nutritional fun stuff: sounds like you already have leaf litter going on - consider adding some seaweed, like dulse or kombu to it. Also, some crabs really dig bee pollen. In the fish section of your pet store, see if they have a fridge with blister packs if bloodworms, mysis shrimp, krill, etc. (Though bloodworms are an alergen for many people, fyi)

Finally, have you seen the videos of crabs on hamster wheels yet? Consider a hamster wheel in the long term.

[GotButterflies]

No worries...you are in the right place now! You are very welcome! This forum is filled with wonderful people that love their crabs or have a love for crabs It is unfortunate that the pet trade does market them as an easy to care for pet...that is definitely not the case! At least now you know! Crabbers unite I have three hamster wheels...highly recommend them! 2 in my 100g, and 1 in my 75g.

[KayedeeLove<3]

A couple tips. It's ok to initially mix your sub with salt water. Later on down the line if your sub dries up use fresh water to remix it. The water evaporates but the salt does not so if you keep mixing it with salt water the salt will keep building up in your sub and hurt them. The only lighting necessary is natural light in the day time and dark at night time so the normal light in the room is good (as long as you have another heating method down). I do have a very nice day night light but only for my viewing and cleaning purposes.

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[Kuda]

Awesome questions and information! It's so nice seeing people taking the time to learn about these little guys. You seem like you have your bases covered!

Also! I know that you were mentioning hermit crabs being more expensive than you thought, however *eventually* if you're worried about the temperature being too warm/cool (I especially worry about over heating with my little tank) getting a thermostat is an option. I have this one for both my hermit crabs and my corn snake, and it's fairly affordable and you just plug your heat mat into it and it helps to maintain the temperature.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0018CLY ... thermostat


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[Hermias_mom]

Thanks so much you guys for all your help! Kuda, I did end up getting a Zilla thermostat. I like it. Seems to work great.

I've made a few changes since the start of this post - when I get a minute I'll try and post pictures in the appropriate forum. But right now the crabs are happy I think. 80-87F, 80%+ humidity in a 5:1 playsand/coco fiber sub moistened with marine saltwater to sandcastle consistency. So I think I've got the heating straight or close to straight for a ten gallon in the spring. Daylight works for now.

Still figuring out what they like to eat. I got some of those fish food blister packs - one for krill mix, one with krill and algae in it. The crabs seem to like the krill one at least.

Nested water bowls and a hampster wheel are in the works for the 29 gallon I want to set up next. I might nest water bowls in this crabitat, if I ever have a minute to put them together. I think my little guy is down right now - he had a gel leg a few days ago and I haven't seen him in 2-3 days. There's not that many places to hide that I wouldn't see him in. Do crabs leave a hole behind when they burrow, so I will know that they've gone down? Maybe that's a question for another forum...

[KayedeeLove<3]

Also i second the hamster wheel idea...


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[Hermias_mom]

Awesome hamster wheel pic! Yes, I am sold on having one in the 29 gallon - just have to figure out how best to set it up inside the space available. I like the crabs all over it!

I notice that you have a bubbler and a piece of regular cholla in your pool. Is that the freshwater pool? Wouldn't the cholla get icky or mess up the water? I'm trying to find something my crabs will be able to climb well that is safe to put in water, and I had originally counted real cholla out (still considering the plastic stuff) because of water contamination, but if you're using it, how's it going for you? The nesting bowls I'm trying to use are 4.5" diameter by 6" tall (Ziploc Twist n loc, medium). I wanted a container that sits on the bottom so I didn't have to worry about anything beneath the bowl when changing out water (even with the nested bowls I'm worried about knocking things around). Currently I have ceramic bowls that I don't take out of the tat that are about the same dimensions as the Ziploc, but a less steep slope to the sides, and I"m using craft mesh to help crabs in and out, but I'm looking for a better solution than the craft mesh for the Ziploc containers. The Ziploc containers have practically straight up and down sides. Uggg for 10 gallon tanks! I am space challenged.