HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I need help ASAP, there are little brown bugs in my tank and mold in both the tank and the water containers, I wanna get red of this stuff perminatly. What cleaning products are safe to use and if these things are mites have do a bath my crabs I don't wanna hurt them. Thanks.

Vinegar is a safe natural disinfectant you can use in your tank. If the dishes are not plastic or other substances that melt you cab boil them to disinfect them as well. I think the standard procedure is fifteen minutes. You could add some salt while you boil them I you want to be extra sure, at least I do anyways to anything I am boiling. Just be sure once it cools to rinse well with regular crab safe water.

Hi! Here is a guide to identifying insects in your crabitat.

If they are springtails they aren't harmful and will help break down wastes in your tat.

Mold will not harm your crabs, and while it can be a nuisance, usually goes away on it's own. I am concerned that it is in the water dish as this would indicate that you have sponges or are not changing your water frequently.

Here is a link to the insect ID guide and also to the caresheets.

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... hp?t=92537

Care Guides:

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... hp?t=92457

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Also parasitic crab mites would be stuck to your crabs joints, eyes or antennae. If they are in the substrate and on the food, they are probably not the bad mites.

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Mold can be very bad for crabs. Over time it can make them sick and weaken them even causing them to die. You need to figure out what is causing your mold. Food? Did they drag and bury it? Heat and humidity not right causing wood to mold? Wood needs to be taken out soak / scrub w ocean salt and bake dry in oven. I have even scrubbed bowls w the salt to kill mold spores. If your mold limited to one area scooping down a few inches and removing the substrate if it comes back you may have to redo. Since you have bugs.. might be a good idea and bathe each crab separately a few times changing water in between.

Laurie LeAnn wrote:Mold can be very bad for crabs. Over time it can make them sick and weaken them even causing them to die. You need to figure out what is causing your mold. Food? Did they drag and bury it? Heat and humidity not right causing wood to mold? Wood needs to be taken out soak / scrub w ocean salt and bake dry in oven. I have even scrubbed bowls w the salt to kill mold spores. If your mold limited to one area scooping down a few inches and removing the substrate if it comes back you may have to redo. Since you have bugs.. might be a good idea and bathe each crab separately a few times changing water in between.

I am not trying to be rude but this information is inaccurate. Mold can be a nuisance but doesn't harm crabs. If you have food mites, bathing the crabs isn't going to do anything to help the situation, and food mites are harmless to the crabs.
Unless there are tiny insects stuck to your crabs that will not come off, please do not bathe your crabs. Bathing them can cause undue stress, especially repeated baths.

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If you're seeing green in the water containers and along the glass under the substrate it's algae and not mold. Totally harmless to hermits and is a sign of a healthy tank. Anytime you have a lot of light and wet where there is oxygen, you'll get algae. All my tanks have it. A soak in vinegar or a run through the dishwasher (if you have heat safe containers) will take care of it in the water dishes.

Brown bugs is a bit more unusual. People normally see sand-colored, white or grey. Check out the mite and bug topics and see if you can spot what they are so you know how to deal with them. The only brown bugs I've ever seen were the orabatid mites that drown in the water dish occasionally. They are a harmless soil mite and break down waste.

wodesorel wrote:If you're seeing green in the water containers and along the glass under the substrate it's algae and not mold. Totally harmless to hermits and is a sign of a healthy tank. Anytime you have a lot of light and wet where there is oxygen, you'll get algae. All my tanks have it. A soak in vinegar or a run through the Carpet Cleaning Port Coquitlam (if you have heat safe containers) will take care of it in the water dishes.

Brown bugs is a bit more unusual. People normally see sand-colored, white or grey. Check out the mite and bug topics and see if you can spot what they are so you know how to deal with them. The only brown bugs I've ever seen were the orabatid mites that drown in the water dish occasionally. They are a harmless soil mite and break down waste.

wodesorel wrote:If you're seeing green in the water containers and along the glass under the substrate it's algae and not mold. Totally harmless to hermits and is a sign of a healthy tank. Anytime you have a lot of light and wet where there is oxygen, you'll get algae. All my tanks have it. A soak in vinegar or a run through the dishwasher (if you have heat safe containers) will take care of it in the water dishes.

Brown bugs is a bit more unusual. People normally see sand-colored, white or grey. Check out the mite and bug topics and see if you can spot what they are so you know how to deal with them. The only brown bugs I've ever seen were the orabatid mites that drown in the water dish occasionally. They are a harmless soil mite and break down waste.

Vinegar is the best chemical reagent that is responsible to remove stain properly.