Why did he die?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 1:13 pm

Last night, I went to feed my crabs and noticed that my big PP was still in the same spot he was last night. I picked him up and he was falling out of his shell. He was dead. I dont handle my crabs much so the last time I noticed him was the night before last. Anywho, the humidity is always at least 80 temp is between 75 - 80ish, there is always a full bowl of salt and spring water. And I honestly dont feed them evernight. They usually have food left over so I feed them every other day. What am I doing wrong? I dont want my other crabs to die.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 1:21 pm

Humidity and temp are good... how's the substrate? Is it damp enough to clump up when they dig? If it's too dry that would have prevented him from destressing by digging down. Might also want to consider if it's deep enough, should be about 1+1/2~2x as deep as he was big.

It sounds like he was fairly new, (under 3 months), so I'm gonna guess probably Post Purchase Stress. Sometimes they're very good at hiding symptoms until it's too late. Your feeding cycle sounds ok, and it looks like you've got the water down. I would probably check him for any strange colors or spots to make sure it wasn't an infection your other crabs might pick up, then go with the PPS.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 1:26 pm

Ive had him for about two months tops. The substrate is playsand and its 5 inches deep in the deepest part. It sand castle consistency. My straw has no problem completely buring himself and he is the biggest. I didnt notice any spots or anything unusual on him. He never showed that anything was wrong and has always been the 2nd most active crab in the tank

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 2:30 pm

Yeah, PPS. Straws are kind of like the canary in the coal mine, as long as they're doing alright it's usually a sign that your conditions are good enough for everyone else. If your straw is just fine, but the PP died, I'm not sure there was anything you could've done differently other than maybe try the "slow ISO" introduction method of gradually raising the humidity and temperature from pet shop conditions to the main tank's. Three months is usually the cutoff date for PPS, if they survive that, they usually die for some other reason like molt attacks. Keep an eye on your other ones for signs of stress or molting behaviors, but I wouldn't worry much after the first 3 months.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 2:42 pm

That sucks. I hope the dont all die. Is it better if you buy smaller crabs? I usually go for the bigger ones. Thanks for all your help by the way.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 2:50 pm

The bigger ones, specifically Jumbos, tend to have harder times adjusting. On the other hand, they get rescued less often and probably need a good home the most.

Sometimes, for all the efforts we make, crabs still pass on. I just lost my little Lily today, she'd been lethargic for about a month. It didn't look like she was molting, so I ISO'd her in case she was sick. She started to perk up, and then went downhill. I ended up digging her a molting cave under the water dish, but she seems to have passed on sometime last week. I'll miss her.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 3:17 am

That is so sad

I have 5 small-medium PP's and I had a nightmare last night that they all went naked and then were surface molting! I have been crabbing for about 6 months now but haven't actually had a molt yet and am very concerned.

One small one (named Monkey) that I got about 3 weeks ago has been half-way burying himself. I've read that you should put him in an iso tank to molt in peace, so I tried that, because he kept digging in active areas of the main tank. When I put him in the iso he just ran around so I put him back with the others.

The temp, humidity, and substrate are fine, and he isn't showing any other pre-molting symptoms, so I think he might just be de-stressing. Anyone having the same or different thoughts?