15 gallon Tank Crabitat Questions

[Sean Risley]

So it’s been almost a month since I started taking care of my crabs. One has succumbed to PPSD and is likely passing away within the hour. I want to make sure the environment is at least livable until I can get better supplies, and to make sure the environment didn't cause this.

Shells: They have 10 gold mouthed Turbo shells about their sizes, maybe slightly smaller.

Water: Tap treated with Zilla water conditioner.

Salt Water: Conditioned tap water with a few pieces of sea salt.

Food: They get dried shrimp and dried coconut, as well as fruits, vegetables and sometimes plain chicken. Replaced every other day.

Substrate: Zilla Jungle Mix, 4-5" deep.

Humidity: Fluctuates between 70% and 80% but normally hangs around 80%. It’s held in by a thin t-shirt covering the top, since I have no plastic wrap. They can’t reach the shirt.

Temperature: Holds steady at 80 degrees Fahrenheit. I have a lamp that gives off a good deal of heat. i turn it on now and again to keep them warm, and they like to sun bathe in it.

Toys: They have a few large rocks, a plastic plant, 2 cork logs that they love to hide on, in and around.

Handling: Every now and again I let one out to walk around for a while.

My concerns are that the salt is not the right kind and could be dangerous for them, I don't much like the t-shirt covering the cage, the damp substrate has had mold before, though i removed the molded parts, and i think the water pools are too shallow.

[CrabbySquirrel]

For the salt water, you should be using a salt made specifically for them -- "Instant Ocean" is the brand that I use, and I see recommended on here quite a bit. There is an entire post in the "Food and Water" section regarding water.

here's the link: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 25&t=92553

It also talks about dechlorinating your water. I, too, was using bottled water (Hinckley Springs, delivered to our house in 25 gallon jugs), and I still dechlorinate that -- I use a product called "Prime" made by SeaChem, but there are many others. Again, this is talked about in the link I posted above, along with product recommendations. Both of the products I mentioned specifically I bought at Petco.

The temp and humidity look good!

They should have several shells each to choose from -- you didn't mention how many crabs you have, so I'm not sure if 6 is enough....

I am sorry about your passing crab....

Nice to see you on the boards!

[Sean Risley]

For the salt water, you should be using a salt made specifically for them -- "Instant Ocean" is the brand that I use, and I see recommended on here quite a bit. There is an entire post in the "Food and Water" section regarding water.

here's the link: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 25&t=92553

It also talks about dechlorinating your water. I, too, was using bottled water (Hinckley Springs, delivered to our house in 25 gallon jugs), and I still dechlorinate that -- I use a product called "Prime" made by SeaChem, but there are many others. Again, this is talked about in the link I posted above, along with product recommendations. Both of the products I mentioned specifically I bought at Petco.

The temp and humidity look good!

They should have several shells each to choose from -- you didn't mention how many crabs you have, so I'm not sure if 6 is enough....

I am sorry about your passing crab....

Nice to see you on the boards!

Thanks! and there's just two of them at the moment. I have more shells should i get a few more.

[Ellysara]

In addition to what CrabbySquirrel said, you probably need a bit more variety for their diet, especially calcium. Egg shells are good for that. Take a look at the food threads on the care sheet section. Would link but I'm on a tablet. There are lots of good foods for hermits that people may not think of, including bark, hay and the poo of vegetarian animals.

Also, gold mouth turbos are not usually preferred by crabs because they are quite heavy.

You didn't mention how deep your substrate is. Should be at least 6 inches or 3 times as deep as your tallest crab, whichever is greater. If you need to add more, I suggest using play sand. While people use EcoEarth on its own with good results, a play sand/EE mix seems to be preferable.

Welcome to the HCA

[gotta-crab-em-all]

Crabs also love crustacean meat, as strange as it may seem to us humans! Shrimp is my clan's absolute favorite food. Other proteins mine enjoy are lobster, cooked unseasoned chicken and hamburger, scrambled eggs, peanutbutter, and dried bugs.

I have had crabs choose goldmouth turbos over other more popular turbo species, but it would be a good idea to look for some other kindsof shells to add some variety. Tapestry turbos, green turbos, and mexican turbos seem to be pretty popular

The water pools should be deep enough for your crabs to fully submerge, with some sortof ramp or other way for them to climb back out. A lot of crabbers use plastic canvas for ramps, and tupperware containers for the dishes/pools.

I second Ellysara's suggestion of adding playsand to the eco earth. You can get a big bag at Lowes or Home Depot for $5 or so. That should cut down on the substrate mold, and it makes for better tunneling and molting caves for the little ones :3

[Sean Risley]

In addition to what CrabbySquirrel said, you probably need a bit more variety for their diet, especially calcium. Egg shells are good for that. Take a look at the food threads on the care sheet section. Would link but I'm on a tablet. There are lots of good foods for hermits that people may not think of, including bark, hay and the poo of vegetarian animals.

Also, gold mouth turbos are not usually preferred by crabs because they are quite heavy.

You didn't mention how deep your substrate is. Should be at least 6 inches or 3 times as deep as your tallest crab, whichever is greater. If you need to add more, I suggest using play sand. While people use EcoEarth on its own with good results, a play sand/EE mix seems to be preferable.

Welcome to the HCA

I'm looking into buying new shells. Its hard to find large ones for them, but they seem much more content with their current options than the painted shells they came in. Substrate was recently upgraded to about 4" in depth. I got some water conditioner for them, and 2 more crabs. now they have roughly 11 shells between all 4 of them, each being a different size, and I'm worried since my largest, Felix, immediately grabbed Cave, my second smallest and tried to get into a shell fight before realizing he is twice as big as Cave. I placed one of my largest turbos next to him and he dropped Cave and ran over and switched to it.

I don't suppose anyone can recommend some vendors of larger turbo shells? I really don't want to see the fight between my two largest over shells that are roughly the same size.

[Ellysara]

Check out the shopping resources: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/pa ... pping.html

[Sean Risley]

After getting more supplies form the pet store, I've updated the info. This jungle mix stuff has mulched Fir bark in it, and i know they are sensitive to that. Is just the bark okay? other ingredients are peat moss. This conditioner appears to be intended for reptiles, but it says it removes chlorine, chloramines, and heavy metals. Is that suitable? Finally, the two largest crabs are low on shells thier size, I'm ordering more soon.

[fraksocks]

That substrate mix or any kind of bark is not really good at all. Besides possibly containing sap or oils that the hermit crabs might be sensitive to the consistency of that type of substrate is not appropriate to permit the crabs to molt successfully. What you need is something like play sand or a play sand/ecco earth mix (they don't sell this you will need to make one yourself) that can be moistened to a "sandcastle" consistency. What that means is that when it's moistened properly that it will hold its shape if formed into a ball or mound without being "soggy" or having extra water sitting at the bottom of the container.

When hermit crabs molt they form a cave around themselves. It's very important for their safety and health during a molt that their cave be intact and that while their exoskeleton is hardening that no large particles of substrate poke them or stick to them. If their cave collapses or a large piece of substrate comes into contact with their body while they are soft and vulnerable they could become injured or even die.

The calcisand that they sell for hermit crabs is also not ok to use as a substrate because when it gets wet and then dries it hardens like a rock. Molting crabs in a calcisand substrate have been known to become stuck and die when they are unable to get back to the surface. Besides it sticks to the crabs, makes them uncomfortable and is a more expensive option than the play sand.

A note about the depth of your substrate. 6" is the bare minimum that you need in order for a small crab to be able to dig down, successfully make a strong molting cave and help protect the molting crab from disturbances on the surface such as you changing food or water dishes or other crabs digging around. However, if you have larger crabs you will need deeper substrate and it's much better to have more substrate rather than less. Aim to have at least 3x the substrate height as your biggest crab. Most experienced crabbers aim for 8-10" of substrate, regardless of the size of crabs they have, and some with really big tanks do 12“+.

[Sean Risley]

That substrate mix or any kind of bark is not really good at all. Besides possibly containing sap or oils that the hermit crabs might be sensitive to the consistency of that type of substrate is not appropriate to permit the crabs to molt successfully. What you need is something like play sand or a play sand/ecco earth mix (they don't sell this you will need to make one yourself) that can be moistened to a "sandcastle" consistency. What that means is that when it's moistened properly that it will hold its shape if formed into a ball or mound without being "soggy" or having extra water sitting at the bottom of the container.

When hermit crabs molt they form a cave around themselves. It's very important for their safety and health during a molt that their cave be intact and that while their exoskeleton is hardening that no large particles of substrate poke them or stick to them. If their cave collapses or a large piece of substrate comes into contact with their body while they are soft and vulnerable they could become injured or even die.

The calcisand that they sell for hermit crabs is also not ok to use as a substrate because when it gets wet and then dries it hardens like a rock. Molting crabs in a calcisand substrate have been known to become stuck and die when they are unable to get back to the surface. Besides it sticks to the crabs, makes them uncomfortable and is a more expensive option than the play sand.

A note about the depth of your substrate. 6" is the bare minimum that you need in order for a small crab to be able to dig down, successfully make a strong molting cave and help protect the molting crab from disturbances on the surface such as you changing food or water dishes or other crabs digging around. However, if you have larger crabs you will need deeper substrate and it's much better to have more substrate rather than less. Aim to have at least 3x the substrate height as your biggest crab. Most experienced crabbers aim for 8-10" of substrate, regardless of the size of crabs they have, and some with really big tanks do 12“+.

Alright then, so for my next trip to the store, i need aquarium salt, play sand and eco-earth.

[fraksocks]

I know it can be a bit overwhelming but many of us started out in similar circumstances to you (myself included). It's really great that you're willing to take all of these extra steps to ensure that you're hermit crabs have the proper care. We're happy to answer any questions that you have. We're all here to learn and help each other

[Sean Risley]

I know it can be a bit overwhelming but many of us started out in similar circumstances to you (myself included). It's really great that you're willing to take all of these extra steps to ensure that you're hermit crabs have the proper care. We're happy to answer any questions that you have. We're all here to learn and help each other

Thanks, that's why i joined. Wanted to get some experienced advice and the opportunity to discuss the antics of these interesting little characters. I'm happy to be a part of the community

[Sean Risley]

Alright i ordered a huge batch of 35 silver mouthed turbos about 2 1/2" in length. Thats about an inch bigger than the current ones.

[Sean Risley]

That substrate mix or any kind of bark is not really good at all. Besides possibly containing sap or oils that the hermit crabs might be sensitive to the consistency of that type of substrate is not appropriate to permit the crabs to molt successfully. What you need is something like play sand or a play sand/ecco earth mix (they don't sell this you will need to make one yourself) that can be moistened to a "sandcastle" consistency. What that means is that when it's moistened properly that it will hold its shape if formed into a ball or mound without being "soggy" or having extra water sitting at the bottom of the container.

When hermit crabs molt they form a cave around themselves. It's very important for their safety and health during a molt that their cave be intact and that while their exoskeleton is hardening that no large particles of substrate poke them or stick to them. If their cave collapses or a large piece of substrate comes into contact with their body while they are soft and vulnerable they could become injured or even die.

The calcisand that they sell for hermit crabs is also not ok to use as a substrate because when it gets wet and then dries it hardens like a rock. Molting crabs in a calcisand substrate have been known to become stuck and die when they are unable to get back to the surface. Besides it sticks to the crabs, makes them uncomfortable and is a more expensive option than the play sand.

A note about the depth of your substrate. 6" is the bare minimum that you need in order for a small crab to be able to dig down, successfully make a strong molting cave and help protect the molting crab from disturbances on the surface such as you changing food or water dishes or other crabs digging around. However, if you have larger crabs you will need deeper substrate and it's much better to have more substrate rather than less. Aim to have at least 3x the substrate height as your biggest crab. Most experienced crabbers aim for 8-10" of substrate, regardless of the size of crabs they have, and some with really big tanks do 12“+.

I've taken your advice and ordered some Eco Earth for them. I also replaced their gold mouthed turbos with silvers that are large enough for them.