HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I have been working crazy shifts a work and haven't dumped the water bowl and rinsed it as regularly as normal. It's been like two weeks since I rinsed it, I just have been adding more, I know that's bad, but anyways, I was going to dump the water bowl and rise it tonight and I noticed little black worms swimming in the water! At first I thought it was just crab poop or coconut fiber. When I picked it up they quit swimming and hide under the few rocks I have in the water. I set it down on the counter and waited a few minutes and they started swimming again! They are not just floating but swimming! Idk how long they have been there and if they have bee there before. I have noticed crab poop and coconut fiber before but now I question if it was the worms!! I'm kinda freaked out lol. They weren't white nematodes or white maggots, they were black long and thin. They looked just like crab poop but it was truly alive! One was squirming in the sink before I ran scalding hot water over it! There are no other critters I can see in my tank besides my crabs, isopods, and those nasty bugs in the water. Anyone have any ideas as to what they could have been? I'm kicking myself for not taking a pic of them. Thanks in advance!

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Probably mosquito or another type of larvae.

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There are a number of flies that produce dark aquatic larvae. It's probably that.
Alternatively they could be the result of parasitic infection - most wild animals harbour some kind of parisite... but since there is nothing we can do for crabs with internal stuff, just change to water more often & try not to think about it!

Wow that would be creepy! Can you imagine finding something like that in your food? Reminds me of the time my cousin found worms in his butterfinger bar. I didn't eat candy for years after that. Disgusting!


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Ha right?! I'm OK with bugs. I have isopods in all my tanks and I'm working in a culture of zebras and Dalmatians. I have those two types in my praying mantis tank which I keep bugs to feed them but no, those little worms were gross! I grew up on a farm and know mosquitoes larva and other bugs but u haven't seen anything like those before. I just cleaned the tank and put in new bedding in last month and no new crabs have been added. I haven't seen anything in there. I have taken out a few and put them in a different tank so maybe the tank dynamics change since I took a few out and stressed some of them which lead to Shedding of internal parasites but still ewwww!

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Maybe they came from some food? I've kept aquariums for years and sometimes when fish get sick it's because the food has eggs of parasites in it which get the fish sick after they eat


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As long as the crabs are acting healthy and you don't see any on them, or coming back to the water I wouldn't worry too much


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