HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I'm going to be cleaning my tank Saturday and had a couple of questions. If I remove the top 2inches of sub do I still need to add clean sub back an inch at a time? And I know climbing is very important but how important is floor space? I think I may take out a couple of things from my tank.

Hermiesguardian wrote:I'm going to be cleaning my tank Saturday and had a couple of questions. If I remove the top 2inches of sub do I still need to add clean sub back an inch at a time? And I know climbing is very important but how important is floor space? I think I may take out a couple of things from my tank.

Well, Its depending on how much hermit crabs you have and you size of you're tank get your hand on measure your crabs and count up from the substrate and if you have the amount depending what you have.

solocrab wrote:

Hermiesguardian wrote:I'm going to be cleaning my tank Saturday and had a couple of questions. If I remove the top 2inches of sub do I still need to add clean sub back an inch at a time? And I know climbing is very important but how important is floor space? I think I may take out a couple of things from my tank.

Well, Its depending on how much hermit crabs you have and you size of you're tank get your hand on measure your crabs and count up from the substrate and if you have the amount depending what you have.

I have a 90 gallon tank with 6 crabs with about 11-12" of substrate. I just wanted to know if I removed top 2 inches for cleaning, can I replace with 2" of clean at once. While everything is out of the tank pretty much. I know I have to work around any holes they have.

Hermiesguardian wrote:

solocrab wrote:

Hermiesguardian wrote:I'm going to be cleaning my tank Saturday and had a couple of questions. If I remove the top 2inches of sub do I still need to add clean sub back an inch at a time? And I know climbing is very important but how important is floor space? I think I may take out a couple of things from my tank.

Well, Its depending on how much hermit crabs you have and you size of you're tank get your hand on measure your crabs and count up from the substrate and if you have the amount depending what you have.

I have a 90 gallon tank with 6 crabs with about 11-12" of substrate. I just wanted to know if I removed top 2 inches for cleaning, can I replace with 2" of clean at once. While everything is out of the tank pretty much. I know I have to work around any holes they have.

Yes, you can do that

Why do you feel that the top 2" needs to be removed completely? I have never (in over 7 years) removed anything more than the little spots that have rotting food dragged to them. Otherwise I just mix everything up now and then, or add substrate when needed.

curlysister wrote:Why do you feel that the top 2" needs to be removed completely? I have never (in over 7 years) removed anything more than the little spots that have rotting food dragged to them. Otherwise I just mix everything up now and then, or add substrate when needed.

Oh. Ok. I just figured there must be a lot of poop. I figured if I removed at least 1 inch I'd be sure to get any food and poop.

You can go with your gut on this one - if you feel like there's likely a lot of guck, go ahead and remove the sand. That said, the top layer has more contact with air, and that isn't generally where you encounter the bad bacteria issues. (Not to get all bacterial -bloom bogeyman on you, just wanted point out that the surface isn't often the worst offender for serious tank problems.) Also, if you have isopods/dpringtails in there, there's probably not a lot of food in the sub.

And I'd agree you can gradually add it all at once. As usual, just don't pat it down.

LadyJinglyJones wrote:You can go with your gut on this one - if you feel like there's likely a lot of guck, go ahead and remove the sand. That said, the top layer has more contact with air, and that isn't generally where you encounter the bad bacteria issues. (Not to get all bacterial -bloom bogeyman on you, just wanted point out that the surface isn't often the worst offender for serious tank problems.) Also, if you have isopods/dpringtails in there, there's probably not a lot of food in the sub.

And I'd agree you can gradually add it all at once. As usual, just don't pat it down.

Can you pat down your substrate if that's a preference?

We recommend you don't because it could theoretically collapse a tunnel. Also, consider that compacting sand leaves less room for air - and air (containing oxygen) is needed to prevent anaerobic bacteria from happending in your sub. Over time, the sand will settle & become more compacted anyhow, so starting with compacted sand isn't ideal from a keep-the-sand-bad-bacteria-free perspective.

You can smooth the surface safely, just don't press down.

LadyJinglyJones wrote:We recommend you don't because it could theoretically collapse a tunnel. Also, consider that compacting sand leaves less room for air - and air (containing oxygen) is needed to prevent anaerobic bacteria from happending in your sub. Over time, the sand will settle & become more compacted anyhow, so starting with compacted sand isn't ideal from a keep-the-sand-bad-bacteria-free perspective.

You can smooth the surface safely, just don't press down.

Okay, that's extremely helpful! Thanks!

LadyJinglyJones wrote:You can go with your gut on this one - if you feel like there's likely a lot of guck, go ahead and remove the sand. That said, the top layer has more contact with air, and that isn't generally where you encounter the bad bacteria issues. (Not to get all bacterial -bloom bogeyman on you, just wanted point out that the surface isn't often the worst offender for serious tank problems.) Also, if you have isopods/dpringtails in there, there's probably not a lot of food in the sub.

And I'd agree you can gradually add it all at once. As usual, just don't pat it down.

I'm not worried about any bacterial blooming issues. Just regular poop and rotting food. I've decided against isopods. The thought of them multiplying pretty much freaks me out. And while I have most items taken out at that time I'll probably redecorate a bit. Give them something new to learn.

Cool beans! And hey, if you just dislike the idea of rotting stuff in the tank, go ahead & remove it. This is a thing you live with in your house, so it's up to you.

LadyJinglyJones wrote:Cool beans! And hey, if you just dislike the idea of rotting stuff in the tank, go ahead & remove it. This is a thing you live with in your house, so it's up to you.

Is rotting stuff ok in the tank? It doesn't smell.

Okay, so I am going to disagree with the general pop here. I would NOT add two inches of substrate back at once. I would stick to one inch per 24 hours. Especially with you taking stuff out. It is easy to collapse things and not realize it. Better safe than sorry. It would be much easier for a hermit crab to dig out of one inch vs two. Also, our measurements can tend to be off - a lot of times we mistake two inches for one, the next thing you know we have gotten carried away with adding sand...Plus wet sand can be heavy. Thats my opinion.

As far as the poop - typically hermit crabs find an area to call their toilet - and you will find it if you are cleaning your tank. Before isopods in my tanks it was in the shell shops, or in a corner of a tank. It was usually a place they felt safe. And there was a lot of it! LOL...I was always surprised at how much there was.

I clean my tank once a year - and I do very little to it. To each's own!

Hermiesguardian wrote:

LadyJinglyJones wrote:Cool beans! And hey, if you just dislike the idea of rotting stuff in the tank, go ahead & remove it. This is a thing you live with in your house, so it's up to you.

Is rotting stuff ok in the tank? It doesn't smell.

I think it's a question of preference. I lean towards thinking its okay.... I just meant that if the idea eeks you out, then remove it, I don't mean that I'm sure your tank is full of waste. I can't honestly say whether matter breaking down is likely to cause problems, because I don't know. I only remove big stuff. But I also have isopods. Poop should be removed, but other than that, I think it's about your comfort level.