HCA: Hermit Crab Association

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? I don't exactly know, I got the tank with substrate in it from someone on Craigslist. I know the sand is Calcisand?

2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? Temperature yes, humidity no.
If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read? Thermometer is above the heater, it says 86 F

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? Yes
If so, what? Zoomed Hermit crab heater (stuck to back of tank)

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)? Both fresh and salt, Zoomed betta H2O dechlorinator and the All Living Things Hermit Crab salt water conditioner

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? FMR Hermit Crab Food (pellet type things?)

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? Purple Pinchers, about 2 months

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen? I'm not sure.

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing? A 10 gallon tank, with a screen lid

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? 2, one about as big as a quarter (Punga), the other slightly bigger (Karkat)

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? 4

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently? No

12. How often do you clean the tank and how? 2-4 times a week, picking up food on the substrate, giving new food and water.

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned? No, the sponge is in the corner where the heater is

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently? Nope

15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)? I mist their tank with tap water about 3 days a week

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
Hi! For the past few days, whenever I take the lid off my crabs' tank, it smells really weird.. I believe Karkat is molting, although I'm not sure, haven't seen him in awhile. Punga is fine, because I've seen him out and about a few times this week.

Any idea what the smell is? I know they have a molting smell and a death smell, not sure which it is...

1. Calcisand is dangerous and hardens around crabs when it dries after being moistened. How many inches deep is it?

We recommend a ratio of playsand (for kids sandboxes) to coconut fiber. This needs to be sandcastle consistency (it needs to hold tunnels and caves).

2. Humidity needs to be at least 80%. An acurite gauge from Walmart displays temp and humidity. They're around $10.

3. The thermometer doesn't need to be close to the heat source. The reading won't be as accurate. How large is the tank? Is the thermometer digital or no? Those little heaters don't put out enough heat to keep a 10 gallon tank in the 80's. We tried to use them with our ISO and gecko tanks to no avail.

4. All Living Things Salt is useless, really. You need a salt mix like Instant Ocean, for setting up a salt water/marine aquarium.

5. This food isn't good for them. IIRC FMR contains a chemical that is toxic to the crabs. They need a variety of proteins, calcium and vegetable matter. We have a Safe Food list in our care guide.

6. Okay

7. Okay

8. The lid needs to be sealed with plastic wrap or duct tape; something to keep humidity in the tank.

9. Okay

10. 3-5 shells per crab is good, PP's prefer turbos usually.

11. Okay

12. Okay. If you have small water dishes without bubblers, daily water changes are necessary. However, dishes should be deep enough for them to submerge in with a way for them to climb out.

13. Sponges are unecessary. They don't help with humidity, crabs don't need them to drink from, and unless you know where they were sourced, have probably been bleached or treated so they'd have little to no nutritional value as a snack.

14. Okay

15. Tap water contains chlorines/ammonia and if it is untreated, can blister their gills. If the screen top is open and they are only getting misted 3 days a week and are in calcium sand, the humidity is not high enough for them to breathe. They are tropical creatures who have modified gills and need a certain level of moisture in the air.

16. Molting smells almost like iodine but if your crab is buried underground to molt you shouldn't smell anything. I've never smelled a molt smell.

Death smell is rotten fish.

Bacterial bloom is rotten eggs.

If your crabs are in calcisand you should dig them up asap and put them in some coconut fiber, playsand, or a mix of the two.



Sent from my LGMS550 using Tapatalk

1. Calcisand is dangerous and hardens around crabs when it dries after being moistened. How many inches deep is it?

Yikes!! I measured it, it's only 1 1/2 inches deep!

The substrate is a majority of an unknown brown sand/EE type thing, with some calcisand

We recommend a ratio of playsand (for kids sandboxes) to coconut fiber. This needs to be sandcastle consistency (it needs to hold tunnels and caves).

Alright, I'm getting playsand on Thursday.

2. Humidity needs to be at least 80%. An acurite gauge from Walmart displays temp and humidity. They're around $10.

I'll get one as soon as I can

3. The thermometer doesn't need to be close to the heat source. The reading won't be as accurate. How large is the tank? Is the thermometer digital or no? Those little heaters don't put out enough heat to keep a 10 gallon tank in the 80's. We tried to use them with our ISO and gecko tanks to no avail.

The tank is 16 inches long, 8 inches wide, 10 1/2 inches tall. The thermometer isn't digital.

4. All Living Things Salt is useless, really. You need a salt mix like Instant Ocean, for setting up a salt water/marine aquarium.

I can't find it, I know my Walmart has sea salt for $2, would that work?

5. This food isn't good for them. IIRC FMR contains a chemical that is toxic to the crabs. They need a variety of proteins, calcium and vegetable matter. We have a Safe Food list in our care guide.

I checked the ingredients against the food list, it checked out..

6. Okay

7. Okay

8. The lid needs to be sealed with plastic wrap or duct tape; something to keep humidity in the tank.

It has plastic wrap on the lid.

9. Okay

10. 3-5 shells per crab is good, PP's prefer turbos usually.

Okay

11. Okay

12. Okay. If you have small water dishes without bubblers, daily water changes are necessary. However, dishes should be deep enough for them to submerge in with a way for them to climb out.

They are deep enough, and I'll get back into daily changes.

13. Sponges are unecessary. They don't help with humidity, crabs don't need them to drink from, and unless you know where they were sourced, have probably been bleached or treated so they'd have little to no nutritional value as a snack.

Alrighty, I took the sponge out.

14. Okay

15. Tap water contains chlorines/ammonia and if it is untreated, can blister their gills. If the screen top is open and they are only getting misted 3 days a week and are in calcium sand, the humidity is not high enough for them to breathe. They are tropical creatures who have modified gills and need a certain level of moisture in the air.

What should I do about this?

16. Molting smells almost like iodine but if your crab is buried underground to molt you shouldn't smell anything. I've never smelled a molt smell.

Death smell is rotten fish.

Bacterial bloom is rotten eggs.

Me and my mom smelled the tank, it smells like mold. I think I read somewhere calcisand grows mold?

If your crabs are in calcisand you should dig them up asap and put them in some coconut fiber, playsand, or a mix of the two.

Sea salt from walmart would be just as bad, probably even worse since it will contain anti caking agents. If you go to your local pet store, ask for marine salt... if its not good to set up a salt water fish tank with, its also junk. If not, see if you can get them to order some in or potentually look online and have it shipped to you.

As for the moisture, adding things such as a deep substrate, moss pits, a glass/plastic lid or bubblers are east ways to increase humidity. Covering the screen is a good start!

If its mould, try and source where its comming from. If its from a rotting food take it out and toss... if its a decoration take it out and soak in salt for a couple of hours and bake in the oven for 30 mins or so under the lowest heat.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

aussieJJDude wrote:Sea salt from walmart would be just as bad, probably even worse since it will contain anti caking agents. If you go to your local pet store, ask for marine salt... if its not good to set up a salt water fish tank with, its also junk. If not, see if you can get them to order some in or potentually look online and have it shipped to you.

As for the moisture, adding things such as a deep substrate, moss pits, a glass/plastic lid or bubblers are east ways to increase humidity. Covering the screen is a good start!

If its mould, try and source where its comming from. If its from a rotting food take it out and toss... if its a decoration take it out and soak in salt for a couple of hours and bake in the oven for 30 mins or so under the lowest heat.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Alrighty, I'll get on this stuff as soon as I can! Thanks

1. Mix of EE, and Playsand for kids.it is about 5inch deep (i have a 10 Gallon Tank)

2. I have a digital Humidity and Temp Gauge, Temp reads: 80 and Humidity reads: 86

3. I have a hermit crab Heater pad on the back of the tank

4. They have Fresh and Salt water available to drink (Instant Ocean Sea water mix) fresh water is bottled water that i would drink so i offer it pure for my crabs.

5. I feed them Hermit grub (seller on Esty) food and Hermies Kitchen (seller on Etsy) food. As well as leftovers i have such as Bell pepper, Baked chicken (non seasoned) cooked egg, Watermelon, and ect.

6. I believe they are Purple pinchers. And I’ve had Two for about a month now and my newest one i welcomed into the tank about 2 weeks.

7. I’m not sure

8. 10 Gallon with Screen lid (I modified it to keep the warmth and humidity inside)

9. Three smallish crabs. smallest is Crowley about as big as a quarter. Aries is just a little bit bigger, Brutus is my biggest he is about a quarter and a half.

10. 3 little shells for Crowley, 4 Biggish shells for Aries and Brutus.

11. No

12. I clean the substrate whenever i notice my crab has left some uneaten food in the same spot for a day. I change the food before it gets any older usually in a few days, especially when i offer something like banana or Bell pepper. i leave the dry food mix for a few days and if it still looks decent another day then i change it.

13. I have never used sponges in my tank

14. I added a Spider plant, but i don’t think it is causing any harm, the plant was organic and not treated with any chemicals, as i have asked the grower.

15. I do water the plant and gently mist the tank with Fresh water, but should i start using instant ocean mix to mist?

16. I am not sure what the smell is, when i go over to check on Crowley (he’s always up and doesn’t burrow into the substrate yet) i notice this odd smell, but it does not make me think of a fishy smell. It’s more like the sea?.. like salt water, and kinda disgusting, my other two crabs are down in the substrate and i have not seen them for about a week, but i always hear them scratching the tank wall and bottom so i know they are alive because i hear the scratching at night and from different spots so it is Both of them. I am just concerned because i am a novice hermit crab owner (well i used to have them when i was young, and I miss leaded on what i needed) i got them again because i am older and more experienced and i a ready to give these crabs what they need in order to live with me. so is this normal?.. and is this smell just really nothing? I at first thought it was the salt water in the tank, but I’m still not sure if that’s what it is or maybe it’s a molting smell..