Missing Fiddler Crab

[Hermycrabitat21]

thats what the big brown bowl in the left corner with the drift wood ontop was for, he has brackish water. that was only to be temporary as i had plans to make a second level for him that is much larger than the bowl i have. so i have 3 bowls in there, 2 for the hermits and the last brackish water for him....

still no sign of him, i have been up extra late looking every where, going around with a flashlight.
what about brine shrimp or blood worms? maybe if i leave some out it will bait him to the tank, but how would i even know if he ate any?

[wodesorel]

I really don't know. They don't dig that much but they can wedge into and under things. I would think that he must have gotten out if you still aren't seeing him.

Maybe the hermit crabs ate him? Fids are extremely sensitive and dying randomly is common. They may have cleaned up any evidence.

Anything can be used as bait, but I'm not sure how to know if he's been in it....

[Hermycrabitat21]

maybe he was eaten... but wouldnt i have found remidents of him??
i dont even no where else to turn... maybe they did, but i thought i would have found evidence of some kind....

[kuza]

crabs eat dead animals for a living in marine tanks. The only evidence at this point may be in their poop.

[Hermycrabitat21]

so how would i be able to tell in the poop thou.... i mean hermit crab poop is so tiny...

[kuza]

mainly color, I'm used to seeing if my crabs have been eating a lot of minerals, cholla, moss etc. Since I keep the top pretty tidy I see all their poops.

[Hermycrabitat21]

the 3 crabs in that tank can keep quite tidy themselves but they dont usually just leave piles.... but ill keep a closer eye this time...

how long does it take for food to pass through the digestive system?

[kuza]

I assume it's pretty quick, my crabs poop a lot.

[Hermycrabitat21]

well its been days... so i dont know if ill be able to find any, considering i just cleaned around the tank on thursaday and saterday.... ugh i feel so hopless....... and just so horrible for even doing this to the poor little guy....

[kuza]

That's the nature of things, it's a food cycle and both of them are in it. You shouldn't feel bad trying to give them a good home.

[wodesorel]

It wasn't like you had put him in a dangerous situation! They are odd little creatures, and they are sensitive. There are many posts down in the archives about hermits and fids together and being fine, so it was most likely the stress of moving around that was the problem. No way to prevent or predict that!

And that's only if he's dead. He might suddenly pop up out of nowhere, or you may find him wandering around the house still.

[Hermycrabitat21]

thank you for being so patient with me, i guess i cant help but feel absolutly horrible when things go wrong....
i am just praying that he pops out of nowhere.... but there are so many places to hide in my house... that he could be anywhere.... and that is very scary, not to mention my cats and the dog who have open ears for everything.