New thoughts on metal ions and crabs

[JediMasterThrash]

After a distributor accused us of making up our "facts" about metal being harmful to crabs, I started researching to find supporting evidence.The results were partly surprising. I couldn't find evidence that metal in general is harmful. I could only find evidence that a speciflc list of heavy-metal ions are known to be toxic/carcinogenic. Those are:Cr (cromium)Ni (nickel)As (arsenic)Cd (cadmium)And it's no surprise that these are the heavy-metal ions that tap-water conditioners like aqua-safe remove.It seems that common metals like aluminum, steel, and iron might not be toxic. They make metal water dishes for cats and dogs. We drink out of metal cups (problems only existed in the old days becuase they painted the metal cups with lead-based paint). Underwater reef systems are built on the rusted-out hulls of sunken ships. And crabs have been known to live in bottlecaps and scavenge garbage.Salt-water is slightly corrosive, and will rust iron. But it's not clear if rust is actually toxic or not. Just an annoyance.I would also like to take this opportunity to reiterate my announcement I made a year ago, that letting tap water sit for 24 hours is ineffective at creating safe water for hermits.Just leaving water out overnight will only remove the chlorine. It will not remove chloramines, because it is a more stable compound (chlorine combined with ammonia), and a lot of water treatment plants are using it more. They are using it exactly for the reason that it doesn't dissipate from the water like chlorine does, but that's what causes our problem. Letting the water sit will also not remove the above mentioned heavy-metal ions, so using a true water conditioner is necessary.Some people had been weary of using tap-water-conditioners because they included slime-coat protectors, mostly for the reason that people thought that this was aloe. I would also like to reiterate that slime-coat protectors and aloe are two independent things. Aloe is only used in Stress Coat for it's purported healing and soothing properties. Slime-coat protectors are hydrocolloids. These are colloids mixed in water to create gel-like properties.Most hydrocolloids are derived from natural sources. Carrageenan is from seaweed, gelatin from fish organs, and pectin from citrus peels.