HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hello everyone, I saw that many of you have live moss in your crabitats. Could I take moss from outside, clean it, quarantine it, and then put it in the crabs tank? Is there a certain way to clean it? I don’t think there were any pesticides or chemicals where I collected it, but I am not sure. How long should I quarantine it?


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I would recommend something like zoomed terrarium moss, as you don't know with 100% certainty that the moss from the backyard hasn't been exposed to pesticides. Depending on where you live certain communities do spray for mosquito control and the pesticides do travel a over a nice area due to wind and even run off when it rains.

Thank you for your response. I actually already have some terrarium moss in the crab’s tank. I just thought it would be cool if I could add some live moss. I know I couldn’t add it as soon as I get it since it could have traces of pesticides or chemicals, but I know that plants usually cycle out pesticides over time. How long do you think it would take to cycle out?


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I'm not entirely sure about your pesticide problem but I do collect a lot of my moss from outside (definitely no pesticides here) what I do is spay it down on jet mode with my hose to get rid of any dirt and bugs from outside, then I qarenten it for a few weeks, then it's ready for my crabs. The type I have is some sort of pillow moss that is not poisonous, but make sure to research your mosses to make sure the moss you have is safe; the crabs will try to eat it!

I also use moss I forage from my house and some other TRUSTED locations. I've tried a couple of different methods for prep before putting in the tank. 1) nothing...I've visually inspected for insects, given it a good shake, popped it in the tank; 2) rinse and dehydrate, rehydrating it in the tank; 3) rinse, put in sealed bag and into the freezer for a couple of weeks. I don't think any way is 100% in keeping insects out, because they have to weather droughts and freezing weather ordinarily. Plus I ended up with springtails, fungus gnats and those little white worms before I ever put my moss in the tank and those things have their purpose anyway. (Except the gnats, they're just a pain.) On the other hand, my guys LOVE it! They dig through it like they're looking for buried treasure. And it's free and free of dyes.

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