HCA: Hermit Crab Association

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
coco fiber on top and sand underneath (leaf litter on top for isopods) 6 in on one side 9 on the other

2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located, and what temperature and humidity do they usually read?
it's about 70-80 on the temp. and 73 for humidity

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
uth on the back wall

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)?
salt water and fresh water available, dechlorinated tap water, instant ocean for the salt

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
I give them fruits or veggies every day, and eggshells for calcium

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
a couple of months, 3 pps

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
one just stopped molting
8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
20 gal long, mesh lid with plastic wrap for humidity

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
3, 2 in, 3 in, 1 in

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

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

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
recently redid the tank

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?
no

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?
redid it a month ago, added driftwood, isopods, leaf litter, new coco fiber

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.)?
no

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.
i found ants in my crabitat ahhhh what do I do??!!! they were crawling in under the lid. i didn't find any old food that they were eating but what should I do? i have isopods in there but idk if they will eat them.

Hi there!

Sorry about your ant problem! I'm not an expert with this, so maybe someone else will jump in too. If the crabbies are topside, I'd move them to a temp tank/container, and really go through your decor and sand to see if they are building any nests in there. If they are, you may have to get new substrate and bake/boil the other stuff. In the meantime, do you have petroleum jelly or Vaseline on hand? Put a nice thick ring of it around the top of the tank, just above where you think they are crawling in from. Ants can't jump, and they won't go through the Vaseline. It will at least keep any more from getting in there.
Just a side note, do you offer lots of protein daily for the crabbies too?

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

CrabbyLover77 wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 08, 2022 8:56 pm

Hi there!

Sorry about your ant problem! I'm not an expert with this, so maybe someone else will jump in too. If the crabbies are topside, I'd move them to a temp tank/container, and really go through your decor and sand to see if they are building any nests in there. If they are, you may have to get new substrate and bake/boil the other stuff. In the meantime, do you have petroleum jelly or Vaseline on hand? Put a nice thick ring of it around the top of the tank, just above where you think they are crawling in from. Ants can't jump, and they won't go through the Vaseline. It will at least keep any more from getting in there.
Just a side note, do you offer lots of protein daily for the crabbies too?

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

ill put vaseline on there. i give them dried krill that I get off of etsy. (i think that's a protein source)

user123456 wrote: ill put vaseline on there. i give them dried krill that I get off of etsy. (i think that's a protein source)

Dried krill is great. Any dried meats like that are good. That's great you had some Vaseline. Should keep any more critters from getting in.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk