Tank smells like stinky feet?

[Guest]

Yeah my tank smells like stinky feet.


I thought it was the peanut butter i was putting in for my crab,( they love peanut butter)


Cause it smelled like stinky feet when i removed it the next morning.

I aired it out, then put the damp towel on top of the screen top.

I continued my routine of fresh organic veggies w honey and crushed nuts, and saved the peanut butter for when i hand feed him.

But now it smells like stinky feet ALL the time

the smell dosent bother me, but i know that my crabitat should not smell like that.

My crab has been burried for a week, theres not a single bit of food missing( wich is a concern of mine, but its already being adressed)
so ive just been replacing the food, and water daily like usual.
Im sure hes not dead, because i know the dead crab smell, BELEIVE ME. hehe.
Im still worried though.

Any info on either situation would be very appreciated

Thanks!

[Guest]

Stinky feet?

Hmm... Maybe they buried food really deep so you can't find it and it's rotting? I don't know...

Or maybe, if you have EE, it's just the Eco Earth smell. To me, it just smells earthy, but maybe it smells different to you, I don't know.

I'm really sorry your baby is worrying you like this. The bad news is that he may continue to worry you for at least a couple months longer, if he's molting.

But, the good news is, it sounds like you're doing everything right! Keeping the tank conditions good, replacing food and water daily, etc. I'm sure he'll be okay. Keep us posted!

[Guest]

I posted the same exact thing a month or more ago. Read the responses I received and my original post. It is titled My tank smells like.... or my tat smells like....
I can't remember the exact name but it is one of those 2 I listed. I added moss and my tank smelled like smelly feet for a few days but now it is done smelling and smells normal now. I don't know why but I figured it had to be the moss because it smelled normal before adding the moss and then after adding the moss it smelled like dirty feet but went away soon after adding the moss so who knows if it was actually the moss or not. I use playsand and have the moss for humidity on the 2nd level that the crabs can also get to and I do notice them eatting it too. Well I hope your smell goes away like mine did you add anything new to the tank?

Here I found mine....
viewtopic.php?t=67300

[Guest]

Lol, well im not afraid of him molting, if he is molting then im fine because he knows what hes doing, i just dont know if hes down there dead or somthing, he never showed PMS at all. thats what worries me. but he may just be down there destressing:) who knows. they know what they're doing

HeHe i remember that one. the fritos smell lol

Well.. i use play sand, i dont use moss
@ because its expensive
B) because i dont own a micro wave hehe so i cant microwave it

its really weird.. it started smelling like that after i put some peanut butter in.

i was going to do a deep clean and just wash everything and use my neighbors microwave to do the sponges and wood climbys, but if my crab is molting, i dont want to disturb him

bad smells come from bacteria, so there must be bacteria. i spot cleaned the surface so hopefully that might help.
But i think hermitlover10 was right, when i pick up the food shell, it smells just like the tank, stinky feet.
so i think my crab may have buried somthing.
its not bothersome to me, i just hope it doesnt hurt him if hes molting. when he comes up ill iso him and do a complete clean of everything and monitor things a little closer

Thanks for all your help you guys

[Hermit_of_Hermit_Crabs]

Stinky feet would be a combination of wet sand and uneaten buried food. Crabs like to bury food like a dog would bury a bone.

[Guest]

i have a 2nd level moss pit and every time i change it out for new my tat starts to have a weird smell about a day after i put it in and lasts for 2-3 days ... this last time i could have sworn there was a dead crab in there possibly buried in the moss because the smell was there but faint, but no ... no dead crab and the weird smell eventually went away about 2 days after i first smelled it and the day after i took out moss pit checked it thoroughly and put it back in ... duhhh, stupid me ... i thought the same thing the last time i put new moss in the pit too. :roll:

[MamaZelly]

Ah! You have sponges??

I'm certain that is the smell. When I first started out I used sponges, and those things will stink to high heaven no matter how you sterilize them. What's worse is you don't even need them. Crabs can drink directly from the dish, and they really didn't help with humidity at all. Keeping a damp towel over the tank worked much much better.

Try ditching the sponges.

[Guest]

I dont use the sponges anymore.
I used them before i discovered the towel trick.
too high maintanance and not worth the money or effort.

it just smells damp really, damp sand and old food.

when he comes up ill do a complete deep clean.
ill moniter what i do incase it comes up again

also.

can you re use sand that you have already used?

if so. how do you sterilize it?

[Guest]

Yes, you can! The usual method is to line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spread the sand out on it. Then bake it at about 400 for up to 30 minutes.

[Guest]

Cool thankyou!

i think ill do that hehe

[Guest]

I know that smell, I call it a "dirty" smell. I have blamed the moss, but the comment about microwaving the moss has me very confused. I use the Zilla brand "Lizard Litter Terrarium Moss". I just soak it in dechlorinated water, ring it out to the point of damp and put it in my 'tat. I have three that sleep in their moss pit all day long.

Do I need to microwave it?