Tiny down for 2 months. What to do...

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shanedaman112
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Tiny down for 2 months. What to do...

Post by shanedaman112 » Sat Mar 19, 2016 5:38 pm

About 2 months ago we got a tiny. He immediately dug down. I upgraded to a 40 gal a month or so ago, so he's still in the old 20 gal. Temp and humidity have been pretty good in there. They dipped low a couple times since I only have a tiny heater to spare. I've never had a crab under for 2 months, not even my big guy. I've never dug for a crab before but I'm considering. There is no smell, but I'm really worried >.<
2 small PPs: Leonardo, Biscuit
3 medium to large PPs: Kermit Rocketson, Lulu, Strawberry (named because he is red, not actually a straw)
1 Neon Tetra: Stevie. 1 Crawfish: Larry
R.I.P. Larry, Crabby, and Hermie (all PPs) O'mally (Neon Tetra) John Cena(Crawfish)

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Krusty Krab
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Re: Tiny down for 2 months. What to do...

Post by Krusty Krab » Sun Mar 20, 2016 4:46 pm

I personally would stay on the safe side and wait another month or two. BTW I love the tinies. They are adorable!!!


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Starview66
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Re: Tiny down for 2 months. What to do...

Post by Starview66 » Sun Mar 20, 2016 5:15 pm

When I first got mine after having them for almost a month one of mine buried for a little over 3 months. If I didn't do research about this I would have dug him up- but I stayed away from cleaning the substrate and kept conditions good- one day I looked in and there was Big Red all furry and munching on some kelp. I would definately wait it out as long as possible. Interrupting a molt could kill him. Keep us posted!


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Re: Tiny down for 2 months. What to do...

Post by DarthKrab » Sun Mar 20, 2016 7:46 pm

Starview66 wrote:When I first got mine after having them for almost a month one of mine buried for a little over 3 months. If I didn't do research about this I would have dug him up- but I stayed away from cleaning the substrate and kept conditions good- one day I looked in and there was Big Red all furry and munching on some kelp. I would definately wait it out as long as possible. Interrupting a molt could kill him. Keep us posted!


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Does the smell of a dead crab make its way up from the substrate? I've had a crab down for about a month and a half now and I just want to make sure he's not just rotting down there hahaha

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Re: Tiny down for 2 months. What to do...

Post by Starview66 » Mon Mar 21, 2016 5:20 am

When mine was down after about a month the tank smelt so fishy that I had to move the tank to an unoccupied room- the smell went away after awhile and months later up he came


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Re: Tiny down for 2 months. What to do...

Post by shanedaman112 » Mon Mar 21, 2016 10:26 am

No smell is coming from the tank. It's just concerning because he's a tiny. If he was normal size I wouldn't be as paranoid >.<
2 small PPs: Leonardo, Biscuit
3 medium to large PPs: Kermit Rocketson, Lulu, Strawberry (named because he is red, not actually a straw)
1 Neon Tetra: Stevie. 1 Crawfish: Larry
R.I.P. Larry, Crabby, and Hermie (all PPs) O'mally (Neon Tetra) John Cena(Crawfish)

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Re: Tiny down for 2 months. What to do...

Post by wodesorel » Mon Mar 21, 2016 1:37 pm

When they're really teeny, they often will only be up for a few days in between molts. Set it up so you'd notice activity around the food and water dishes and if you see something disturbed then go searching for him immediately so you can get him moved. Otherwise you might be waiting a while! There's no way to know if he's molting, so unless you know he's been up it really is best to wait.
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Re: Tiny down for 2 months. What to do...

Post by shanedaman112 » Mon Mar 21, 2016 7:22 pm

!!! I didn't know that o: thanks wode!
2 small PPs: Leonardo, Biscuit
3 medium to large PPs: Kermit Rocketson, Lulu, Strawberry (named because he is red, not actually a straw)
1 Neon Tetra: Stevie. 1 Crawfish: Larry
R.I.P. Larry, Crabby, and Hermie (all PPs) O'mally (Neon Tetra) John Cena(Crawfish)

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Re: Tiny down for 2 months. What to do...

Post by wodesorel » Mon Mar 21, 2016 7:29 pm

I saw Firefly out and about four times the first year I had him, always in the middle of the night. I kept finding him molting in the moss pit, or under things, so I knew he was okay, but that little thing was shedding every 3 to 4 weeks! He'd go down for a week, molt for a week, hang for a week, restock for a few days, and then would do the same thing all over again. And it worked - by the end of the first year he went from a micro to solid small and started to stay above ground more. It took two years and him becoming a medium before he really started to be active. He was a molting machine.
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Re: Tiny down for 2 months. What to do...

Post by Crabby Witch » Wed Mar 23, 2016 12:07 pm

wodesorel wrote:I saw Firefly out and about four times the first year I had him, always in the middle of the night. I kept finding him molting in the moss pit, or under things, so I knew he was okay, but that little thing was shedding every 3 to 4 weeks! He'd go down for a week, molt for a week, hang for a week, restock for a few days, and then would do the same thing all over again. And it worked - by the end of the first year he went from a micro to solid small and started to stay above ground more. It took two years and him becoming a medium before he really started to be active. He was a molting machine.
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Re: Tiny down for 2 months. What to do...

Post by Neona » Wed Mar 23, 2016 1:41 pm

@crabbywitch - Crabs are weird as the quote goes.


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Re: Tiny down for 2 months. What to do...

Post by shanedaman112 » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:05 pm

I realized that there haven't been any new piles/holes in the sand since he's gone down. So I actually can tell he hasn't come up yet now. Now I'm a bit worried again.
2 small PPs: Leonardo, Biscuit
3 medium to large PPs: Kermit Rocketson, Lulu, Strawberry (named because he is red, not actually a straw)
1 Neon Tetra: Stevie. 1 Crawfish: Larry
R.I.P. Larry, Crabby, and Hermie (all PPs) O'mally (Neon Tetra) John Cena(Crawfish)


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Re: Tiny down for 2 months. What to do...

Post by theornerycheese » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:09 pm

Owner of 4 tiny/small Ruggies and a small PP here. I would definitely wait until at least the 3 month mark if I were you. 2 and a half months seems to be normal for my guys, even after pulling back to back molts.

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Re: Tiny down for 2 months. What to do...

Post by Crabby Witch » Wed Mar 23, 2016 3:44 pm

Neona wrote:@crabbywitch - Crabs are weird as the quote goes.


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THE SUN IS LIFE
THE MOON IS MAGIC
6 small PP, 3Lg/Jumbos, 6 mediums
One 18-year-old black cat & a conure

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Re: Tiny down for 2 months. What to do...

Post by shanedaman112 » Thu Apr 21, 2016 7:52 pm

So, forgot to mention he came up about a week ago :D
The night I checked for him, and found him, I had already decided that the next day I was going to dig him up. Lucky me :)
2 small PPs: Leonardo, Biscuit
3 medium to large PPs: Kermit Rocketson, Lulu, Strawberry (named because he is red, not actually a straw)
1 Neon Tetra: Stevie. 1 Crawfish: Larry
R.I.P. Larry, Crabby, and Hermie (all PPs) O'mally (Neon Tetra) John Cena(Crawfish)

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