Mangrove Plants

[Guest]

I am 11 years old (my much older mother is sitting next to me as this is her account). I fell in love with hermit crabs while attending a Guinea Pig Royalty contest. It was in a mall and there was quite a lot of time to kill. When I asked for some crabs my mom said yes after I had researched how to care for them and wrote a report. I did my report and presented it to my 5th grade class. Mom came to see me share what I learned and surprised me a gift. I now have three friends (2 PP's and a Ruggie). I also raise rabbits (dutch) and guinea pigs (American) for 4H. I am doing the hermit crabs as a 4H project also.

Now for my question.

I have read several places that hermits love to climb and eat mangrove plants. I found a space that has 8 inch plants for sell, but they can't give me much info on how to add them to my crab-a-tat. Do I plant then in the sand or leave them in a small water filled container? Do I use fresh or salt water. I know they can be completely submerged into a fish tank. Are they any other live plants that I could add to my crab-a-tat? I am getting ready to move everyone from a 10 gallon tank into a 25 gallon tank. (I lucked out, both tanks have been given to me.) The 10 gallon while then become my ISO tank. I want to get some medium sized hermits.

[BAB]

First of all... Hi!

I don't know if this post is in the correct location or not.... hmm...

Another member on here.... kayla... purchased some mangrove plants and shared them and little info with me. Her plants are doing great. Mine need more humidity.

Do I plant then in the sand or leave them in a small water filled container?
Yes... and yes... hehe... I have 1 plant in a jar with sand in the bottom and brackish (fresh with a bit of sea salt water) I have another plant in a pot with eco earth.

Do I use fresh or salt water.
Once again.. yes... I use both...

Are they any other live plants that I could add to my crab-a-tat?
Check the Safe Plant List in the drop down box to the side ---->
It's listed under Crab Care FAQ... that should give ya more plant information to start with... and then I'd say do a search on here with the menu option above and look for "plant" or "safe plant" You'll get tons of info I'm sure.

Hope that helps! Happy Crabbing!

[ripshaw]

hi there, im so glad your mom had you research your new pets! shes a smart mom, and you already have a head start on the majority of crab owners. i once kept a live plant in my crabs' tank. i wish i could tell you what type of plant it was, but i can tell you it did wonderfully in the expandable coconut husk substrate (brand name eco earth, bed-a-beast, or forest bed). this substrate is also great because it adds humidity to the tank and the crabs love to dig and molt in it. you keep the substrate moist at all times. what makes plants difficult is that they require sunlight and crabs hate direct sunlight, so i eventually removed the plant and put it outside and a squirrel ate it, but thats another story...lol

[nora]

I put my mangrove in a cut down plastic water bottle with some marbles and fresh water. It has grown a good root structure and some leaves.I have it suction cupped to the inside of the tat and will give it to the hermies when it begins to outgrow it's home. Just make sure the water doesn't go too high on the plant(about a 1/4 of the plant).