HCA: Hermit Crab Association

The title pretty much says it. My adopted crabs are leaving me lots and lots of little presents. So many that I doubt I'm finding them all when I go to clean the top of the sub. I'm still pretty new, so I don't think I want to try isopods yet, but I don't think I can keep up with all this poo! If I am missing a bunch, what can I expect from the tank? Will it increase my chances of getting mites? Or something equally harmful to my crabbies?

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i find that they poo in waves. i find it every few weeks. im lucky bc they flush their toilets in the water dish a lot so its easy to find. i also find "piles" so its easy to clean. crab poop doesnt seem to stink & breaks down pretty quick. to my untrained eye. i also churn sub once all 3 crabs are up (the only time i handle thrm is to put thrm in a seperate tank while i do this) ive never had a bacteria bloom/mites. to date no isopds either. i went from a 10g to a 40b. once this last crab comes up I'll churn the sub and rearrange the decor. i find this helps me keep track of lost (buried) shells, varies their environment and lets me be sure there's no pooling. I've been crabbin for 14 months, not long I know but no breakouts, deaths, bacteria blooms or mites. knock on morponi wood.

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My guys seem to poop everywhere but most popular potty spots are on wood or in moss pit! My eyes are not the best so I finally gave up trying to find the poop and got isopods:) I also churn my sub occasionally when all crannies are above sub. The poop offers natural healthy bacteria in the sub so no worries:)


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Mine poo in empty shells. Ticks me off a bit when the empty shells are in the shell shop. I work hard to keep those things clean!

Hermias_mom wrote:Mine poo in empty shells. Ticks me off a bit when the empty shells are in the shell shop. I work hard to keep those things clean!

Lol! Mine too...the Isopods clean it up though


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My hermit crabs don't seem to eat much even though I give what is recommended on here and I have never seen poop...which is a sentence id never thought I'd be sad about saying


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HermitHound wrote:My hermit crabs don't seem to eat much even though I give what is recommended on here and I have never seen poop...which is a sentence id never thought I'd be sad about saying


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Do you know what it looks like? They poop!


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GotButterflies wrote:

HermitHound wrote:My hermit crabs don't seem to eat much even though I give what is recommended on here and I have never seen poop...which is a sentence id never thought I'd be sad about saying


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Do you know what it looks like? They poop!


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Probably not! Lol


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its like a long black/brown tube, similar to a chunky eyelash. if you have EE it can blend in quiet well to the substrate.

Phew, ok. I'm happy it's ok if I miss a few droppings! I only have one crab up right now (unless my destresser is being a ninja) and he poops A TON!

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They poo in their shells, and then clean them out periodically into locations they choose themselves. Many crabs will kind of make themselves a toilet location in the tat somewhere. If you have a sand/EE mix, it can be easy to miss. Usually the same color as the EE.

Mine have taken to dumping their poop in their coconut oil dish! I have found a little almost everyday for the past few days.

I have one crab who I've witnessed cleaning out his shell...it's disturbing. Anyway, he only seems to do it at the highest point in the tat. I wonder what that says about his ego "I am higher than all of you and now I shall poop on you"

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Also, has anyone tried using a tuekey baster to "suck up" the poo?

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I currently have 4 crabs. 2 I've had for 3 years and the other 2 ive had for 1 year. It didn't take the two newer crabs long once introduced to the new tank to realize there is a designated "**** pit" to throw their poop. It's the only spot in the tank I ever find poop, besides one other spot occasionally.

Once upon time my 2 crabs constantly threw their poop in the food dish, which was frustrating! But they all keep it in their one area now