Anyone want my...

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 11:48 am

surviving crabbies? My tank has flies in it - AGAIN - after I just sterilized everything and got rid of anything that could possibly host fruit flies. And there are regular flies in it now! I'm afraid of losing my survivors. I don't know what more to do for them.

The hesitation I have is I don't know what exactly they've been exposed to. Consequently, they'd have to be iso'd for a while.

I either need to find a new home for them, or watch them die one by one. [smilie=crybaby.gif] [smilie=crybaby.gif] [smilie=crybaby.gif] [smilie=crybaby.gif]

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 12:28 pm

why don't you bathe them, and then put them in an entirely new critter carrier with brand new sand, until you can sterilize the other tanks. Have you boiled EVERYTHING? And let the tank soak in the bathtub with dish soap??

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 12:33 pm

I just sterilized/boiled everything, and bathed all my crabs. I don't know what more to do for my poor crabs. I love them so much!!!! I can't take any more deaths, though. Four deaths in the last three weeks is too much for me to handle. The only "plus" side to Pest's impending death is I'm braced for it. All the others hit out of the blue. I'll go ahead and do another deep clean, though, if that's what it takes.

Sweetie Pie is dug under, though. Should I go ahead and deep clean? I'm going to re-boil everything, and replace the sand altogether.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 12:36 pm

how do the flys get in your tank you have a glass lid right

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 12:36 pm

I am so sorry to hear that .

have you tried putting them in a new ISO long enough to sterilize everything else? I really don't want you to have to give up your survivors but if you do feel you need to i can come and get them . i live in tyler,tx and would be willing to drive . I hope everything works out ok .. i can't imagine if i had to give up my babies . good luck with all of this don't give up .

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 12:38 pm

i would use a spoon(or soup ladle) and dig up sweetie pie with the dirt around her so you can deep clean again . i have had to do that before .

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 12:48 pm

maby you should bake the sand to sterilizae it

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 12:58 pm

I'm going to give this one last shot. I'll change the substrate altogether, boil everything in the tank, clean the tank w/ vinegar (again), and bathe all my crabs. If that doesn't work, I'll adopt out my surviving crabs and sell my tanks.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 1:07 pm

oh gosh! i'm so sorry to hear about this

i don't know if you're doing this, but instead of sterilizing the substrate, just throw it out completely and get new. i had that problem with the mites, that i just baked the substrate and i ended up getting more. also, if you think the flies might be on the crabs, try bathing them in a double concentration of IO. when i had the mites bad i did that, and only had to do one round of baths for the crabs, instead of stressing them out with lots.

i know you're not supposed to dig up crabs, but i really think this is an exception. definitely get an iso set up and get her out of there. i think it would be less stressful to be dug up then to get messed up by flies.

i hope you don't have to get rid of your little ones!

let us know how it goes, i'm hoping it works this time for you!

Dawn · Post by **Dawn** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 1:22 pm

Tomtru...I have some questions.

If there are flies in the tank then some flies had to lay eggs in the tank or they got in somehow...Is your top open to the air without a screen?

Flies will be attracted to stuff you feed the crabs and if they can get in they will get in...Fruit flies go after fruit. The other flies will go after anything that smells bad.

Seems to me that all the moving and sterilizing and that might be more stressful than the flies are...Flies can't actually hurt the hermies, I don't think. And when they lay eggs the maggots will only eat dead rotting flesh (they used to use maggots to clean the wounds of soldiers in WWI. They'll not touch the live flesh, only the dead flesh)

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 1:29 pm

you can also make a simple fly trap: take a tall, lean glass container. Place wine at the bottom (for fruit flies) or honey, or something else that smells strongly. At the opening, make a funnel with some tape, with the sticky side out. When the flies go inside, they either drown in the liquid, or get stuck to the tape trying to escape.

Not pretty but it's worked in my tank.

and yes you NEED a sealed lid of some sort.

Good luck!!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 1:37 pm

The tank is sealed off. The only thing I can think of is they're either getting in when I refill the food/water dishes, or somehow getting in under the lid. I'll definitely try the fly trap. I REALLY don't want to get rid of my babies. I love my crabs!! But loving something also means wanting what's best for them. I'll replace all the sand and such.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 10:05 pm

I noticed a Fruit fly in my tank this morning. They can kill the crabbies? How and should I take everything out of the tank tommorow and clean it all??? Now i'm really worried!!!!

i'm so sorry about your crabbies...good luck!!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 10:16 pm

There are instructions for the fruit fly trap in the Crab Care FAQ links, I posted the instructions there from my site. Here is the link to my site with a picture http://www.crabbytalk.com/?p=2

The trap has taken care of the fruit fly problem. If you are having a problem with regular flies, I read over at LHC (I think) that you can put a sticky fly strip (yellow kind) on your glass (out of reach of the hermies) and that really does the trick. Do a search for flies at http://landhermitcrabs.com/ there is a bunch of info, I just checked.

I doubt Fruit and regular flies are the cause of your hermie deaths. Is there anything else in your tank that you have changed recently, dechlor, salt, substrate, food, new toys?

Don't give up on your crabbing abilities. Unfortunately, you're having a bad spell right now. We're all here to support you and help you to figure this out.

Robin

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 11:11 pm

Well, now that you mention it, I did put some fake plants and a net in the tank recently. I didn't think anything about it until now. When I deep cleaned the tank, I removed the plants and boiled the net. I've since put the net back in the tank, but I've kept the plants out. Sounds like it's a good thing I didn't put the plants back in

Thanks for suggesting that! It never occured to me before. And my surviving hermies seem fine in the main tank. I've got this fly problem, but that's it (as far as I know). I didn't get a chance to today, but I'm going to replace all the substrate and re-boil the dishes/toys/etc and re-bathe my hermies tomorrow (except Sweetie Pie, who's dug under).

PS: I've been keeping a close eye on him. Did I do more harm than good keeping that close of an eye on him? I've been picking him up, too -I wasn't sure if he was dead or alive.