Water treatment warning

tnt4eva · Post by **tnt4eva** » Mon Jan 17, 2011 10:43 pm

I would ditch the HBH and buy a proper marine aquarium salt. Salt sold specifically for hermit crabs should really be avoided as you simply don't know what is in it and usually the companies selling products for hermit crabs are just out for a quick dollar and don't care about the safety of our hermit crabs.

Hermit crabs need access to marine salt water, which doesn't just provide salt - it also provides other nutrients found in sea water.

They can survive for a while without those additional nutrients, but eventually they will die.

Some other sites actually consider HBH salt to be dangerous
http://www.hermitcrabparadise.com/crabc ... ?list=salt

Brands of marine aquarium salt like Instant Ocean are a good choice.

suebee · Post by **suebee** » Mon Jan 17, 2011 10:53 pm

I wouldnt consider the salt unsafe.. and actually I dont want to be unethical but i also would not refer anyone to most of the info i have seen on that site, we have a great salt thread here Id much rather we refer people to our own info.
viewtopic.php?p=671800&highlight=#671800

Marine salt or salt made to make water for marine aquarium fish tanks gives minerals that are needed by the crabs as well as the salt needed.. Its best to use a marine salt mix. We also have some great info to the right at the crab care FAQ drop down under mixing salt water.

Post by **wodesorel** » Tue Jan 18, 2011 7:35 am

It could be that you got a bad bottle of dechlor. Problems in manufacturing happen all the time, and it could just be a fluke!

Different brands can also react differently depending on the water used. I know that before I used Prime for my fish they kept dying from bacterial infections. When I switched to Prime the problem stopped in it's tracks and I haven't had an issue since. My theory was that the dechlor brand I was using before wasn't doing it's job or it was directly affecting the fish, and the added stress from chlorinated water or extra chemicals caused the bacterial infections.

Mike120 · Post by **Mike120** » Tue Jan 18, 2011 10:02 am

Ok here's the story with the jungle bed. I come home from school and my crabs are fine with perfect conditions, I take a shower and check on my crabs again and I see my oldest one out of his shell, I did everything I could to save him but he dies the next day. So I was thinking it could have been the surface molt a few days earlier, but the other crab died right after him with no symptoms of anything suspicious. So I'm assuming they both died of the same cause. so the week later I go out and buy new substrate and I got t-Rex jungle bed for reptiles(12L) for less that 1L of the same stuff recommended for crabs, just with different animals on the package. I have stopped using the store bought food due to the metals,pesticides and preservatives.
Now here's the story with the dechlor ease. I've been using it in my tropical fish tank for my black tailed plattties for the last 7years and they've been perfectly fine, if not more that fine. The mix is two drops per gallon and I hadn't even finished the first gallon before these crabs died

suebee · Post by **suebee** » Tue Jan 18, 2011 10:36 am

I think its the substrate not the water conditioner. Get some sand. The water wouldnt make them leave the shell. a splinter from the substrate would.

Mike120 · Post by **Mike120** » Tue Jan 18, 2011 10:41 am

No no no , I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. I switched the substrate AFTER they died, so that has nothing to do with it, besides my other crabs seem to enjoy it, I've had two molts since I put it In. And my shyest crab is coming out more often.

suebee · Post by **suebee** » Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:01 am

crabs dont come out of the shell for molts. coming out of the shell wouldnt mean he was going to do a surface molt. it usually means there is a humidity issue, a shell fight, a shell problem, or a splinter of some kind in the tail of the crab. If you tell us the exact conditions of the tank when the crab died we might be able to help you figure out why he died. Also how long you had the crabs that died and where you got them from.

Mike120 · Post by **Mike120** » Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:23 am

Ok, I had sand in the tank at a depth of three inches and the crab was only one inch tall.he did a surface molt and was walking around fine for the next three days. The temp was 80F and humidity was 75F. I had both fresh and salt water, and some oranges, shrimp tails, and peanut butter in the cage. The next day, I find him shell-less in the water dish, so I thought, no biggie, I'll just wash him and his shell and let him do his thing. So he was fine. But then the next day, he was out of his shell, so I gave him a variety this time, but he didn't want to go in, so I let him sit in darkness for the next few hours, checking up on him every now and then. Nothing happened. So I moved him into the main tank to see what he would do, then 5 hours later I checked up on him, no movement. So I got scared and I smelled the crabitat, it smelled like dead fish, so I picked him up and smelled him, and sure enough, it was him. I let him sit in iso just in case a miracle would happen, no movement. So at that point, I gave up. Then after I bought the jungle bed, all of my crabs started to molt,except for one, he hadn't been moving since the death of my first one. So I checked on him, very little movement. I just let nature take it's course with him because there was absolutely nothing I could do without risking his life.