HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hey all! I got some cholla wood from cholla queen on Etsy and I soaked them and let them dry out as much a possible. I will say that I was pretty eager to get them in my tank and didn’t let it dry ALL the way out and now it’s molded any way to avoid that for the future? I am soaking it again and may bake it. Just seeking suggestions.
Thanks!

KristenL0522 wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 04, 2019 7:18 am

Hey all! I got some cholla wood from cholla queen on Etsy and I soaked them and let them dry out as much a possible. I will say that I was pretty eager to get them in my tank and didn’t let it dry ALL the way out and now it’s molded any way to avoid that for the future? I am soaking it again and may bake it. Just seeking suggestions.
Thanks!

Hi! Any wood or other organic product in a crabitat with the correct conditions will go moldy. Looking at it one way, it’s actually a pretty good sign that your humidity levels are in a healthy range, so - good job but yes, it can be frustrating. When you say you soaked the cholla, did you soak it in fresh or salt water? A salt water soak will go a ways toward inhibiting mold growth, but it won’t prevent it outright.

A number of us keep a “clean up crew” of either isopods (aka woodlice, rolly-pollies) or springtails in our tanks to help with this type of thing (along with fulfilling other cleaning duties, like eating food bits that have been squirrelled away to the far reaches of the tank by crab hoarders). I personally have kept isopods in my tank for the last 5-6 years, and they’ve done a fantastic job of keeping my tank from being overrun by mold - my crabitat is full of cholla and mopani and cork and grapevine and other wood and wood-like natural items, and I haven’t had to take items out to salt soak or had a noticeable problem with mold since I introduced the isopods.

Good luck!

I personally never soak anything I put into my tank. If it's going to mold, it will, but then it eventually dies off.

I would also like to mention that isopods don't eat mold, but springtails do

GotButterflies wrote: I would also like to mention that isopods don't eat mold, but springtails do

Good note GotButterflies, I should have qualified my statement: isopods eat the decaying organic matter on which mold also feeds. So the competition for food source via the introduction of isopods is what leads to less mold. I tend to overcomplicate matters generally, and sometimes I swing towards oversimplification as a mitigation strategy; useful in some contexts, but not all


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I only soaked it bc it was suggested. I’m not sure about adding anything into my tank at this moment. Thanks everyone though!!

I always put a small fan in the tank (a little plastic "personal desk" fan, I've usually found them at Walgreens), on a timer so there's a "breeze" on a regular basis. The crabs love it--they would often sit on a high place in front of the fan and just wave their feelers around in the breeze--and once I added that in, I never had mold problems again (which I had like CRAZY until I started having a fan). I do keep it on a timer so I can regulate how much it is on or off, because it is another factor that will affect temp and humidity.

DragonsFly wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 05, 2019 4:17 pm

I always put a small fan in the tank (a little plastic "personal desk" fan, I've usually found them at Walgreens), on a timer so there's a "breeze" on a regular basis. The crabs love it--they would often sit on a high place in front of the fan and just wave their feelers around in the breeze--and once I added that in, I never had mold problems again (which I had like CRAZY until I started having a fan). I do keep it on a timer so I can regulate how much it is on or off, because it is another factor that will affect temp and humidity.

Hmmm thanks for that info. I’ll have to look into that!