HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Tomorrow im going shoppin fo rthe hermies! Im going to go to Wal-mart for a shower caddy, Michaels for some shells, and Petsmart for salt water mix. My question is, whats the best kind of salt water mix, and should i mix it with Distilled or Spring water?

any aquarium grade salt water mix is good, but u dont want to use the salt especialy for hermit crabs, it dosnt have high enough salinity (wierd, i know). and as long as the water is declorinated it should be good, but spring water might be better.

Oceanic and Instant Ocean are the two best types. I think Instant Ocean is a little better than Oceanic.

Additionally, I would use spring water. There are some minerals in it that could be helpful to crab's health. Distilled would work just as well. Either way, if you are planning to use plain ol' tap water, be sure to use a dechlorinator without slime coat.

Under no circumstances should you buy ZooMed, Saltwater Glub, or any other hermit crab salt. Those are never good and are always way more expensive.

ok coool=] So like Oceanic or something?

Yes, look for Oceanic or Instant Ocean. The bag/box will look like this:

Instant Ocean

Oceanic

thank you<3333 How much money do you think it will be?

i think 20or less

It depends on how much you buy. These are Instant Ocean prices:

Makes 10 gallons - $8.00

Makes 25 gallons - $15.00

Makes 50 gallons - $20.00

Those are Petco prices. Petsmart would probably be in the same area.

Thank you sooooooo much!<3<3

No problem.

I bet you're excited for all the new stuff you are purchasing. Are there gonna be any new hermit crabs from the pet store?

i dont think so=[ I dont plan on upgrading from my 10g, cuz my parents wont let me=[, so once they all grow, there will be no room

Kilimanjaro wrote:I think Instant Ocean is a little better than Oceanic.

What makes you say that? In the FAQs it says that IO has one of the highest concentrations of metal, which makes me want to stay away from it (although I do use it-- I bought it before reading this in the FAQs and since other people use it, I figure it must not be a huge problem). Just curious as to what your reasoning is Kilimanjaro.

KeY+

keybowvio, this thread is why I believe Instant Ocean is one of the more elite brands. I prefer it over Oceanic because of this.

I use Instant Ocean because that's what my local pet store carries. If you look at the prices kili gave, you'll see the $20 is the best value. I make mine by putting the salt, according to the directions, into a gallon of distilled water.

Kilimanjaro wrote:keybowvio, this thread is why I believe Instant Ocean is one of the more elite brands. I prefer it over Oceanic because of this.

I also use Instant Ocean because of that.