please help! ants in molting tank!
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2022 4:15 pm
1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? Coconut fibre and play sand mix. In the tank it was about 6 inches deep, but now in the isolation jar it’s about an inch.
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? They’re on the back of the tank, and they were 75 degrees and 80 humidity before I started the cleaning process.
3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what? Under the tank heating pads but on the back of the 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)? Fresh and salt water are available inside the tank - I was using Thrive conditioner and salt water (premade), but just got my order of Prime and Instant Ocean.
5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? A variety of fruits and veg, fish, and on occasion plain Cheerios. Daily.
6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? It’s a PP and I’ve had it about a month now, had crabs longer though.
7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen? Currently molting.
8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing? 3 crabs, 30 gal, and currently mesh but getting a glass replacement soon. It’s covered in Saran Wrap to keep as much humidity as possible though.
9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? 2 small and 1 large.
10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? There’s 15 shells of various sizes in there.
11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently? No.
12. How often do you clean the tank and how? Haven’t cleaned this one since set up aside from spot cleaning the surface.
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? No.
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 need advice.
So, ants got into my tank. They’re the really tiny ones, if that matters. I very slowly dug up my molting crab, and it’s in a jar with some shallow substrate (coconut fibre and play sand mix) that I’m going to put back in the main tank once it gets a deep clean. I know digging it up was dangerous but I think from what I’ve read with ants it was my only option.
My question is: is there anything else I should be doing to give it the best chance at completing its molt without passing?
.
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? They’re on the back of the tank, and they were 75 degrees and 80 humidity before I started the cleaning process.
3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what? Under the tank heating pads but on the back of the 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)? Fresh and salt water are available inside the tank - I was using Thrive conditioner and salt water (premade), but just got my order of Prime and Instant Ocean.
5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced? A variety of fruits and veg, fish, and on occasion plain Cheerios. Daily.
6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known? It’s a PP and I’ve had it about a month now, had crabs longer though.
7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen? Currently molting.
8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing? 3 crabs, 30 gal, and currently mesh but getting a glass replacement soon. It’s covered in Saran Wrap to keep as much humidity as possible though.
9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they? 2 small and 1 large.
10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any? There’s 15 shells of various sizes in there.
11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently? No.
12. How often do you clean the tank and how? Haven’t cleaned this one since set up aside from spot cleaning the surface.
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? No.
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 need advice.
So, ants got into my tank. They’re the really tiny ones, if that matters. I very slowly dug up my molting crab, and it’s in a jar with some shallow substrate (coconut fibre and play sand mix) that I’m going to put back in the main tank once it gets a deep clean. I know digging it up was dangerous but I think from what I’ve read with ants it was my only option.
My question is: is there anything else I should be doing to give it the best chance at completing its molt without passing?
.