My E's are going extinct!

[Crabby Abby]

Wow Crabby Mom, you have my most sincere sympathy for your tragedies.Is it a tank of mixed species? Any newbies added recently? What are your conditions? How long has this been going on and had you made any environmental changes prior? Can you tell me what you're feeding them? What size is your tank and how are you heating it? Had each crab that's passed started out buried?Just by this bit of info, streaking molters and a crab that struggled with his exo, I'm wondering if your climate is off. If humidity is too high they may have too much moisture in their shell and usually they'll hang out to evaporate it. Too low and they struggle to get the exo off. If the temp is too high with not enough humidity when they're panting to get the exo off, they may be overheating and that's why they're streaking. Just kicking around scenarios. You've been crabbing longer than I have so I have no doubt your conditions and care are awesome but maybe we can spot something.

[Nicole]

I lost my only two Es to bad molts several years ago. They looked horrible, dropped and twisted limbs and generally bad coloring to the new exo. Both made it through their first bad molts and died after their second. I always thought I could have improved on my humidity as they must have just struggled so hard to get those exos off, you could just tell. They wanted to live. My humidity was always fine for the PPs but I'm wondering if Es can take it and prefer it higher than the 75-80% that I kept for the PPs, particularly during molts. They seemed to molt a lot faster than the PPs (at least to me) and thus had less premolt resting time and maybe needed the "boost" that higher humidity would have given them to push off the old exo. I'm so sorry to hear about your Es; I wish I could help you more.

[Willow]

What about their diet? What do you feed them? I have a theory, but I want to hear about their diet before I go expounding all over .

[KittyCaller]

I'm also wondering about nutrition. You mentioned that you thought one or two might have been attacked. I've noticed that the people who have the most success with main tank molts, tend to spend a lot of energy on making sure the diet is right. I'm not at all trying to imply anything. It just makes me wonder if they're missing just one little obscure nutrient that might help them out. I'm so sorry this has been happening. I didn't have much success with Es, either.

[NewCrabber]

I'm sorry for the losses, and how frustrating this must be! The fact that you are an experienced crabber, this being confined to one species, your having had them for almost a year and having straws in the same tank makes this even more of a mystery to me. My initial thought though is in line with Willow's regarding diet. Possibly something lacking which is contributing to difficult molts, but also the attacks. I wouldn't think it has much if anything to do with conditions, but you might want to test the gauge just so it can be ruled out. What is the temp by the way?You said they seemed to have a habit of leaving their shells to molt. So were they leaving them sub-level? Was it primarily prior to or after shedding? If after, had they eaten any of the old exos?I'm also wondering how many of them you purchased from the same store and if all at the same time or separately. (Any of the others purchased from the same store(s)?)Did they happen to bury around the same area of the tank to molt? Did the one you snipped the exo from molt near or under a water dish?

[KittyCaller]

Hmm, it's a pretty nice balanced diet. I didn't notice any chitin sources in your list there, but I doubt that's the issue. (If you are interested in chitin sources, both shellfish exos and mushrooms are good sources. Mushrooms are good for natural iodine also) It's strange that they would be attacking each other, because that usually comes about due to a nutritional deficiency. You might try upping the amount of chitin you offer, and give them some frozen silverside fish. That may put a curb on the aggression you might be witnessing. It certainly won't hurt anything! Hmm, from what I understand, a crab will leave their shell during molting if the pressure becomes too great and they have difficulty splitting. Are you keeping your guys in conditions suitable for straws? That might help. I'm so sorry you're having such difficulties. You're a very good crabber, and I wish I could lend you more help.

[NewCrabber]

I don't think it has anything to do with the care they received in the stores you purchased them from. You had them long enough to get them past the negligence they probably suffered and chances are they weren't there long enough for any kind of lasting damage since you were able to keep them going for that length of time. What I was getting at when asking if they came from the same store, I was just thinking that if they were harvested from the same loction that maybe there is something their which was toxic to them in the long run causing this difficulty with molting and death. There would be no way of knowing that or finding out of course, but because it is limited to one species and all seem to be molt related, it seems a possibility to me. What you might do to try to remedy that just in case that's the cause, I don't have a clue. Although, you don't say which commercial foods you're feeding them if any have ethoxyquin, copper sulfate or any other preservatives I'd stop using them. Along with the suggestions KC gave you, you might also want to increase in the diet things like organic berries, pears, apples, legumes (though I don't know which are on the safe food list besides lentils), Spirulina and greens. Though it has been a long time and it may be impossible to reverse, if they were exposed to some kind of chemical toxin, these might help to detox. In any event, I'd for sure bump up the Spirulina and greens offerings if nothing else. Whether they leave their shells before or after molting, it seems like their molts may have been/are so difficult and draining that they were/are too weak to dig their way to the top carrying a shell after shedding and attempting to recover so either dropped them or left them behind. With the diet you provide it seems a little strange that they'd be attacked like that, but because this has been an ongoing process within their small environment(compared to the natural habit) I wonder if it could be a survival of the fittest thing, competition between the species? That does sound strange since we've not heard anything like it being observed by owners of mixed species, but just a thought. The one with the twisted leg could have been in a cavern that didn't have enough room when he shed for the limbs to harden in a normal position, but between him and the last one you posted about I'm also wondering if the area they molted in was a bit too damp.

[momof4]

I feel for you I have had on going e molt problems too the last two years always ones that I have had previous molts with. I have changed diet and that seems to help but the only other thing I have tried and I haven't lost anyone since is higher humidity and temp. closer to 80-85 each. They now have their own tank with ruggies and my indo and so far no deaths. I hope your problem resolves.

[Willow]

Yeah, I was going to recommend feeding them more greens. This seems to help my hermies with moulting. What brands of commercial food are you giving them? It seems that any time I try to feed my hermies commercial food (no matter how little) something bad happens. Usually with the Straws or Es. I don't think of Es as being particularly delicate, but commercial food seems to bother them. I had an "extinct E" problem a few years back, but I've changed so much since them that I don't know exactly what made things improve. Oh----What brand of salt water do you use? I was using Instant Ocean when I was having trouble, so I've been leery of that brand ever since. Or maybe it was just a bad batch.

[Nicole]

You should be able to find Spirulina inexpensively at a health food store. It might come loose or in tablets (which can be ground up) or capsules, which you can open as needed. Other beneficial seaweeds are listed in this article. Dry decaying leaves and bark are also a good food source for hermit crabs and many are free if you know a good pesticide-free location to get them from. The Hermit Crab Addiction offers a food mix tailored to Ecuadorians that you might be interested in buying as well.