HCA: Hermit Crab Association

So I've got a squarish dish that holds 8oz of salt water deep enough for my largest crabs. The crabs (10) that are currently up go through the entire dish in 48hrs. Does this seem right? Previously I realized that I had a climbing thing that was wicking out the water but its no longer in there. It's been a couple of months going like this. I also wondered if they were unhappy with the salt levels but I have always followed the directions on the IO box and have made at least 2 gallons since this started happening. Should I be concerned? I rarely see anyone in there so maybe they have pool parties at night!

Is the sub around and under it unusually wet?

Interesting... could it just be a lot of evaporation? I know that if there's dirt in my fresh water dish it seems to empty very quickly. Or maybe just a pool party! Set up a game cam? That would be a hoot!

Even with all your hermitcrabs visiting the salt water dish at the same time with the rate of evaporation for salt water factored in you should not be loosing that much water that fast.Salt evaporates and nearly double the rate of fresh water which is why it's recommended to have a larger salt water dish than fresh water.You have one of two things happening either the dish has sprang a leak or your crabs are taking water in their shells and actively dumping it to hydrate the sub which they will do if they are not exactly pleased with the sub.You can tell pretty quickly whats going on with the bowl/dish by taking it out of the enclosure and setting it on a dry towel for a couple of hours, you can then go back and check the towel if it's damp or wet then you have a leaker on your hands if not then you might have active dumpers.lolWhat kind of and where is your heat source located in relation to the dish?

Well I can tell that at least the majority of the sub is "sand castle consistency" because there are remnants of tunnels all over the place. Unless it has dried out in one area where the big guys hang out. I will check today and also check for a leak. The dish tends to have a thin layer of sand/sub across the bottom, but so does my freshwater pool. As for heat, I don't need any right now so I have the day/night bulb on top of the screen in a corner that doesn't have any water. I bet it is just time for a larger salt pool!

Do they have to climb down to get out of the water dish? This can lead to them dumping their shell water every time they exit the dish and have to go fill it up again soon. This can also lead to major flooding below the dishes just like a bubbler can but splashing the substrate constantly when the bubbles pop.

Idk why I was wondering if it was a leak....there is always the same amount of water left in the pool (as in it never gets below a certain depth = no leak )They can either climb over the edge, for the big guys, or use the bridge for the smaller guys, so there is not really any chance for them to duo out the shell water. I'm thinking now that they must just use a lot and the rest evaporates. Thanks for all the input guys!

That would be true if the leak is at the bottom but you could still have a leak just in the side of the dish, just above the line where it always ends up. You'd know it was a leak if the sub is wet. I had a dish that leaked from the bottom and it caused the sub to be muddy and nasty at the bottom of the tank. I would keep an eye on it, drying out sub is not fun, racing is easier but pricey.Peg