Shell store inside crabitat... and pillbug q

incycle · Post by **incycle** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 1:33 pm

OK so I have seen people posting about buying their shells from a retail shell store, but I want to know about the "shell stores" inside the crabitats? It looks as though some people have a little lagoon (FW or SW?) with shells lying in there. Is that to keep the shells relatively clean and sand free for an easier move in?

What have been people's experiences with these?

My 3 new PPs have yet to change from their painted shells (ack) but I'm assuming they are still settling in.

Thanks, all! Going to the store to get some mealworms. I def think these 3 need some protein pronto.

And has anyone just caught a pillbug outside and just put them in their crabitat?

kornchaser · Post by **kornchaser** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 3:57 pm

incycle wrote:
And has anyone just caught a pillbug outside and just put them in their crabitat?

My grandparents are out in the middle of nowhere and Rollie Pollies are just EVERYWHERE!! I plan on going out to the country with my 2.5g in summer and collecting them for my new crabitat since my hermits love to drag off food and burry it. I think with a place like that I wouldn't have to ISO them to rid of pesticides but in a backyard situation in town I would suggest just the opposite. Keep them separated for a couple weeks in something small but decent like a critter tote (any experienced pill bug owner chip in) to rid of any pesticides in their system. Some EE maybe a half inch and some extra food, nothing extravagant. I believe someone around here breeds them and/or just tosses the excess food from the hermits (leftovers) in the isopod tank simply because; less waste.

Mommy of 10 PP babies:
Poseidon (Sid), Toby, Matty, Junior, Aries, Kaylee, Turbo, Adrian, Pepper and Flower. RIP Octavius & Fred

megmaholm · Post by **megmaholm** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 4:21 pm

incycle wrote:OK so I have seen people posting about buying their shells from a retail shell store, but I want to know about the "shell stores" inside the crabitats? It looks as though some people have a little lagoon (FW or SW?) with shells lying in there. Is that to keep the shells relatively clean and sand free for an easier move in?

What have been people's experiences with these?

My 3 new PPs have yet to change from their painted shells (ack) but I'm assuming they are still settling in.

Thanks, all! Going to the store to get some mealworms. I def think these 3 need some protein pronto.

And has anyone just caught a pillbug outside and just put them in their crabitat?

To expand on what kornchaser said, here's some good info on pillbugs/isopods in the tank: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 26&t=92538 It's something I definitely plan on trying this spring/summer for my tank

Shell stores/shops in the crabitat are just to keep the shells more organized and clean. As far as I know most people don't have them in water, they just put them in a container like a shower caddy and stick it in the tank. You can pretty much use anything to hold the shells, as long as you're not layering them more than 2-3 deep so they're easier for the crabs to get to. And of course make sure there's an easy way in/out for them

Crabinski · Post by **Crabinski** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 4:33 pm

Ditto what @megmaholm said.

Re shells in pools: I use a combination of river pebbles and small flat scallop shells to line the bottom of the FW & SW pools. Using those natural items and adding a small plastic aquarium plant gives the crabs a non-slick surface to walk on in the water while the plant gives them something else to hold on to while exiting [my guys always eschew the plastic canvas ramps

].

kornchaser · Post by **kornchaser** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 5:00 pm

Here's some links also
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armadillidium_vulgare
viewtopic.php?t=101840#p934188
In this thread I'm personally wondering for my own tank why the color variation is to be avoided?
viewtopic.php?t=101838

EDIT: Why bright blue and purple Isopoda should be avoided and IIV / iridovirus
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/23 ... 67/related

Mommy of 10 PP babies:
Poseidon (Sid), Toby, Matty, Junior, Aries, Kaylee, Turbo, Adrian, Pepper and Flower. RIP Octavius & Fred

incycle · Post by **incycle** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 10:07 pm

Oh wow, I have tons of decaying leaves (got a nice compost box in the backyard) to feed pill bugs and a little fourth grader down the street who can catch ANY INSECT KNOWN TO MAN.
I think I may try the compost pill bug experiment... heh.

moonbeam · Post by **moonbeam** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 1:35 am

I found Isopods in my yard this past November. I have kept them separate from the crabs for 3 months to ensure any pesticides have worked their way out of their systems. It's been a while since I've researched them but I think I remember it being recommended to do so for 2-3 months but I'm always conservative when it comes to the crabs plus I know we use pesticides.

I gotta say I love my Isopods, they are always entertaining! Sometimes I sit and watch the pod tank just as long as I watch the crabs. I can't wait to add them to the crabitat! I do think I'll probably keep some separate though, just for entertainment (and in case my crabs eat all my first additions to the tank

).

Oh and just my opinion. When your harvesting I think it's probably easier to harvest them without scooping a lot of dirt around them. My kid kept throwing dirt in when we were harvesting them (he's little and was having a blast!) plus we were short on eco earth and moss so I used it as their bedding for the first two weeks. Not cool. Spiders and worms and other bugs. I promptly went and bought both moss and eco earth. I still have some springtails that managed to make it over in the sub switch but apparently they can be beneficial in a tank top so I don't worry about them. Oh yeah and the leaves you can feed to you pods and your crabs! My crabs constantly snack on leaves as do the pods.

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incycle · Post by **incycle** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 11:13 am

moonbeam wrote:Oh and just my opinion. When your harvesting I think it's probably easier to harvest them without scooping a lot of dirt around them. My kid kept throwing dirt in when we were harvesting them (he's little and was having a blast!) plus we were short on eco earth and moss so I used it as their bedding for the first two weeks. Not cool. Spiders and worms and other bugs. I promptly went and bought both moss and eco earth. I still have some springtails that managed to make it over in the sub switch but apparently they can be beneficial in a tank top so I don't worry about them. Oh yeah and the leaves you can feed to you pods and your crabs! My crabs constantly snack on leaves as do the pods.

That is good to know - thank you! I still have eco earth and moss so I am ready to forage in the yard later!

Yeah, I was wondering about springtails because there are TONS here. Do you think the crabs would try to eat the springtails as well?

And if the crabs do eat the pillbugs - I wonder what remains? Will the other pillbugs clean up that detritus?

I don't think it'll be too hard to find the pill bugs, we usually see one or two on our walk to and from school. I sometimes have a little container on me anyways, I was teaching my younger son's class about insects and we have a ridiculous amount of black widows and brown recluse spiders in this area. We went on a spider catching field trip and the kids had a BLAST at the local park.

YYWW · Post by **YYWW** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 11:38 am

I think people breed the isopods and just use the captivity bred babies in the crab tank. Maybe keep a second pod tank just for the babies, and when you have a handful of captive bred isopods, throw em in. Hopefully you'll have some pregnant captives too!

Crabbers unite!!!

moonbeam · Post by **moonbeam** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 3:38 pm

incycle wrote: That is good to know - thank you! I still have eco earth and moss so I am ready to forage in the yard later!

Yeah, I was wondering about springtails because there are TONS here. Do you think the crabs would try to eat the springtails as well?

And if the crabs do eat the pillbugs - I wonder what remains? Will the other pillbugs clean up that detritus?

I don't think it'll be too hard to find the pill bugs, we usually see one or two on our walk to and from school. I sometimes have a little container on me anyways, I was teaching my younger son's class about insects and we have a ridiculous amount of black widows and brown recluse spiders in this area. We went on a spider catching field trip and the kids had a BLAST at the local park.

Honestly I'm not sure if the crabs will eat the springtails (or if they can catch them). I'll have to look for the thread but I remember reading springtails are good bc they do eat mold unlike isopods. No harm in throwing some in as long as you're good with them. They don't bother me so I look forward to adding them in with the pods to my tank eventually.

The pods will eat the remains of other dead pods. They actually have cannabalistic qualities in captivity. This can be helped by offering them animal proteins like crickets and mealworms and by putting them in a larger container of there are too many in a small space. But in the end, they do eat each other from time to time.

I hope your search is faster and easier than mine! I spent month looking under every rock and stone in my yard. It wasn't until I came across an old log (that I didn't even know was there) that I found my pods. Leave no stone (or log) unturned!

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moonbeam · Post by **moonbeam** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 3:59 pm

kornchaser wrote:Here's some links also
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armadillidium_vulgare
viewtopic.php?t=101840#p934188
In this thread I'm personally wondering for my own tank why the color variation is to be avoided?
viewtopic.php?t=101838

EDIT: Why bright blue and purple Isopoda should be avoided and IIV / iridovirus
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/23 ... 67/related

Mommy of 10 PP babies:
Poseidon (Sid), Toby, Matty, Junior, Aries, Kaylee, Turbo, Adrian, Pepper and Flower. RIP Octavius & Fred

Just to clear up any confusion about the albino pod. I collected the albino in my first harvest and had no clue what baby and juvenile pods looked like. Turns out, the albino was just a juvenile. I now have hundreds that look just like it. It was just my inexperience and overzealous nature wanting to know everything possible about my new pods. And always avoid blue/purple pods bc they have a contagious, fatal virus that can kill off your entire colony.

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incycle · Post by **incycle** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 7:32 pm

Thanks, all. I went outside and grabbed 5 gray ones under the bricks that surround a tree in the front yard. A lot of leaves fall and so there's plenty of food for isos and I found a HUGE horde of springtails. I used to be scared to death of them but I'm ok now...

I did notice the albino ones, and those suckers were QUICK! I was too slow to get any of those... but I enjoyed reading about them on the AlaskaHermit.com site:
http://alaskahermit.com/information-cen ... opod-care/

I do remember reading about avoiding the blue/purple ones. I'm trying to remember if I've EVER seen one that color, but that's probably a good thing...

kornchaser · Post by **kornchaser** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 9:52 pm

I agree, with the disease being so deadly to your thriving colony its a great thing you haven't seen them. The poor rolly polly colonies suffer just the same.
Also a nice thing to add that I've noticed on my own research is that when you want to add them to your own tank besides just ISOing them for pesticides and what not you want to wait until they breed then add the BABIES to your tank. Not sure if you have to wait until the offspring is mature in order to add them or not. Can someone clarify?

Mommy of 10 PP babies:
Poseidon (Sid), Toby, Matty, Junior, Aries, Kaylee, Turbo, Adrian, Pepper and Flower. RIP Octavius & Fred

incycle · Post by **incycle** » Thu Feb 26, 2015 12:58 pm

Great stuff... I managed to grab 3 more rolypolys this morning, 3 "albino" isopods (I think they are wood lice?) and 3 springtails. I gotta research the different types... Oh and two tiny millipedes. One albino was in the middle of a molt!

I'll try to post a pic later. Apparently they molt the back end first, then the front.

I found a nice pic and thread here so you can see the difference in color in an affected isopod with "iridovirus":
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthr ... quarantine

moonbeam · Post by **moonbeam** » Thu Feb 26, 2015 6:52 pm

kornchaser wrote:Not sure if you have to wait until the offspring is mature in order to add them or not. Can someone clarify?

I'm certainly no expert on pods or adding them to a crabitat but here's my plan. When I get around to putting the pods in the tank, I feel like with hundreds of pods, big and small, it may be quite difficult to handpick which pods go in. My plan is to add the moss I've kept in the pod tank into the crab tank. The pods and their babies are always crawling around in the moss so I figure if I just transfer the moss from one to the other it will make the transition much easier for them and me. Afterward I plan to gather more who are crawling on the sub and add then into the moss too (I figure I'll put the moss in an empty bowl first to add more pods and then just put them all in at one time). I'll probably leave a mixture of adults, juveniles, and babies in the pod tank so I can have a thriving colony to gather from if need be. My hope is by cluttering up the crab tank with leaves and moss and bark, my pods, big and small, will be able to grow and reproduce in the crab tank.

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HCA: Hermit Crab Association