Possibly adopting three more crabs! Suggestions? (edit: I adopted them!)

[parker_roo]

I usually don't intervene unless there's some pinching happening, but if it looked like aggression you probably did the right thing. Did he do anything other than grab the other crab's shell? If it happens again put them on opposite ends of the tank. I'm honestly not very experienced with 'crab drama' because I have freakishly mellow crabs, so maybe someone else has some advice?

Oh, and I agree the EE in your tank looks a little weird. Can you dig a little of it up and see what it looks/smells like? I kind of wonder if the UTH baked it and it lost its color or something.

Alright, I will keep an eye on them. It looked like Sebastian was about to pinch, but I could be wrong.

I am not sure if I want to dig any of it up, with the tank being a 5 gallon, and a molting crab, it makes me a little worried. The discolored EE is close to the bottom. Should I dig some up, risking stumbling upon a molter, or would it be okay? I will be removing the last two crabs as soon as they come up.

[megmaholm]

No, you don't want to disturb a molter unless it's an emergency. Can you take a spoon and wedge it as close to the glass as you can and scrape a little up? Or take a straw and poke a hole in there and see if anything smells weird. If the tank doesn't smell bad or anything, I would take that as a good sign.

[parker_roo]

The tank itself smells like musty paint. There has been no chemical like paint around the crabs, or the tank, as far as I know. But I have reread the email sent to me by the owner, they mention that there is some sand mixed with the EE, and the owner also told me that they took some EE off the top, and put about an inch of new EE, which is moist, sand castle consistency. My guess now is that the heaters just dried out the mixture of sand and EE, so I think everything is okay. I just want the other crab that isn't molting to come up to the surface, so I can put them in the main tank. Patience, something hermit crab owners learn, especially during the first molt...

[wodesorel]

Also here a picture of where the UTHs were, the substrate does not look very normal.

Does it look weird to anyone, or just dried out?

Just popping in to say - This is mineral crystallization from the heat source. It happens in my tank as well. It's harmless! It could be from something in the substrate itself, or from saltwater mix, or just from the minerals found in hard water. It's the same thing that happens to faucets, only amplified because the heat source is evaporating away a large area of water-laden substrate that had these minerals dissolved in it. In some cases it's the sign of an old tank with old substrate.

[parker_roo]

Thank you! This makes me feel better about it all. I think the substrate is old, so I'm glad it is harmless! My only worry is if one of the crabs buried was too close to the heat, and not make it. But I think the crabs are fine, but I've only had them for a day, and only one has came up, so we will see how it all plays out.

[thermidor]

That looks like past mold that has since dried up; hermit crabs are tough but mold is never a good thing. I'd get it out of there and clean the tank as soon as practical (everyone up).

[parker_roo]

That looks like past mold that has since dried up; hermit crabs are tough but mold is never a good thing. I'd get it out of there and clean the tank as soon as practical (everyone up).

Yeah, that actually does look like I could have been mold, now dried mold. The tank smells gross and musty, and I think it will take a little time for the other two to come up, because so far I haven't seen any signs of them coming above the substrate. My guess is that they are both molting. I can't wait to get rid of that tank. I will probably keep it to use as an ISO, but I will definitely be scrubbing it and dumping out all the substrate when they are up.

[parker_roo]

Okay, so I was in a hurry this morning, and I couldn't get a picture, but I woke up to find the new crab snuggling with my other two crabs in one of the shell shops! My main shell shop is where my crabs sleep, they just love it. But I'm so happy to see that they all are getting along! I have yet to name this new crab, but I gendered him last night. He also changed shells yesterday! I am so happy that he is doing so great! Just seeing all three cuddling together, sleeping, made me smile!

[parker_roo]

I've been thinking about the heating in the tank I got from the previous owner, with the crabs molting in it. I don't have another thermometer to regulate the heat in the tank. My main tank has a digital one, that I need in order to keep my other three happy. But it is a 5.5 gallon tank, and it has two UTHs on the back side above the substrate. They are very small, maybe 6"x4" and one is a Zoo Med and the other is an All Living Things UTH. So you can imagine that they wouldn't be too warm and reliable. Is it okay to keep the tank the temperature it was when the owner had them? Or should I try my hardest to warm that thing up? I don't have the extra thermometer, so I won't know if it gets too hot. What should I do? I want the molters to be warm enough. And humidity is not an issue. I honestly think the substrate is way to moist, so mold grows easily, and the substrate feels like a wet sponge. And I can't do anything to change that, until it either dries out, or the crabs come up. So the main issue is heat. Any suggestions?

[parker_roo]

Two down, one more to go!

This is one of the other crabs that was molting. It is a male, and I have yet to name him, because I am bad at naming. He is the biggest crab in the tank, and he looks pale, but his coloring is just light. I can tell that he just molted, and he looks very healthy! The colors on him are pretty light pinks and purples, but I'm not sure if you can tell from the picture.



Alright, one successful molt! Just one more crab to go, I'm waiting for the last crab to come up to the surface in the other 5 gallon tank. And they have all been getting along very well! No fights, aggression, or anything like that, this has gone a lot smoother than I planned!

[megmaholm]

Pretty colors! He's super cute.

[parker_roo]

Thank you! I was first concerned that he was pale and unhealthy, but I saw all the signs of a completed molt, and saw how pretty he is. I love how every crab has their different, unique colors, they always seem to impress me!

[kornchaser]

That is ADORABLE awwe


Mommy of 10 PP babies:
Poseidon (Sid), Toby, Matty, Junior, Aries, Kaylee, Turbo, Adrian, Pepper and Flower. RIP Octavius & Fred