HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I have no idea what happened, but I went to feed my African Dwarf Frogs tonight and found one belly up on the bottom of the tank They were both swimming around yesterday so I don't understand it. He had a small red dot on his chin/throat that I wouldn't have a clue what it was from, and his belly looked bloated. I'm not sure if anyone here has any ideas, but I'm just sad my little guy is alone until I get paid to be able to get him another buddy.

I'm so sorry! Poor little guy.

Is their tank cycled, and are you watching the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels? In some ways they're harder to keep than fish, since the water always has to be perfect. If it's not they can get sick really quick.

I found those guys hard to kill growing up. Not that we tried to but on 2 occasions while being moved out of the tank for a few hours ours jumped into a cup of hot soapy water. Once we had one jump into that same water that actually had bleach in it. I must have had super hardy froggies. I wish I could go back in time and get them to give you. I hope your little guy likes his new friend. I am sorry you had this happen. I was really surprised to read it.

Likely dropsy or impaction from either food or substrate...sorry for your loss.

Thanks guys <3

I keep their tank very clean and have a good filter. Only things I feed them is frozen bloodworms and freeze dried ones in between. I do have a thing of the little itty bitty pellets sold for them, but haven't used any since I got the second one. I don't think I'll use it anymore though if it's anything like the pet store foods for hermies.
I have to wait until my next pay or my taxes (whichever comes first) before being able to get another, but I have to pick up a few deco pieces and a UVB light for the Crabitat so Petsmart here I come in a week or two.

Not to beat a dead horse, but I run into a lot of people who don't understand the cycling process for aquariums so I am always going to double check. It has nothing to do with keeping the tank clean or having a filter - for the water to stay healthy all the time there has to be a large colony of good bacteria that eats the waste of the animals in the tank as soon as they poop it out. If there's no good bacteria or if there's not enough of the bacteria, then the ammonia and nitrate rockets up which will kill fish and amphibians very quickly, sometimes within an hour. Knowing where your tank is at in the cycle is vital, and knowing what the ammonia, nitrate, and nitrate levels are is also extremely important. Petsmart and Petco will run water tests for you for free if you can't buy a testing kit, just bring in a little container and take it to the fish counter. And to learn about how to cycle a tank, there are some great guides out there, like this article from the Cichlid Forum: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cycling.php

I never had problems with it before, but will keep it in mind.