HCA: Hermit Crab Association

So anyway. . . this Isn't classified as an 'Emergency' because it isn't, lol.


I'd just like some replys. P:

I noticed recently that we had fruit flies in the tank - no biggie. that was before. they disappeared, okay, figures, its not there season anyway! but.. I have tiny bugs. again. its annoying.

I can remove all the food and not put some in for the day and they disappear, just like, vanish into thin air. There Brown, white, and some of them even a tan color. I checked the bug list but haven't read it all through so might later. x_O

I don't want to do a deepclean.

because I can't.

I have 3 crabs that each at least take 2 gallons, and then the rest are all micros(I think). so we'd have to break out the other 10 gallon and buy some play sand (finally) The Upside Is I could probably find Google (The little bugger switched shells and I have no idea where he is!!) and add more sand to the shell shop area. And fix up the tank. ...

okay nevermind I just need to fix up the tank anyway. i might clean out the ISO and ask mom to buy some play sand so i can also fix up the tank and just temp. host them in there (for probably the day so i can clean the shells etc)

ANYWAY.

Now ...yeah thats pretty much it. x_O

they can fly and there Tan, Brown, and some of the time a slight red.

any ideas?

(there not on the crabs - I checked two, but will check them all / bathe them just to be sure when I clean out the tank tomorrow (Heck I'm cleaning it weather theres bugs that are harmful in there or not. I want to fix up a few things that megatron killed)

How about putting some Plastic wrap under the hood so its air tight, After you get them out of course.

You almost HAVE to deepclean. Just take out the sand, rinse it, then bake it. They probably laid eggs in your tank, which means even if you make it "air tight" the eggs will hatch and repopulate.

That's unusual. If they weren't flying, I'd say booklice, but I can't come up with a winged insect that fits the description. The most common flies in crabitats are fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster), gnats and humpbacked flies, but they are all pretty big and black/dark in colour. There are some very small fruit fly species, though, that would fit the profile and the varying colour of their body is also something that I associate with fruit flies, the WIki article on them has a picture that shows that very nicely:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drosophila

x_x.


well, can you bake EE?

and I guess I have to wait for the playsand to get back.


..

and crap.

no, I can't deeplclean. I have tons of crabs underground - who knows where. isn't this just lovely!? I guess I could scrape off thin layers until i come across a crab..?

I dunno how to do this. D8

and I think I'd melt the seran wrap around the lamp. Its like, a 100 watt. x_x

Jedediah - there REALLYYY SMALL. they might be fruitflies, I'm not sure. If there just fruit flies, there not bad for the tank, right? (I'd just leave them in to be honest - they're going to get terrible in the summer.)

I've seen a few different type of fruit flies, but there usually big, we get them ALOT in the summer. I might set a 'trap' next to the tank and see if they take the bait.

Most bugs are not bad for the tank or the crabs. The exception are humpbacked flies when they breed to much and mites tht are found on the crabs. So I'd say that you can wait for the crabs to come up from their molt and do a deep clean then if the bugs haven't disappeared by themselves.
And you can bake EE just as well as sand

And that came straight from the Bug Master himself!

Jedediah wrote:Most bugs are not bad for the tank or the crabs. The exception are humpbacked flies when they breed to much and mites tht are found on the crabs. So I'd say that you can wait for the crabs to come up from their molt and do a deep clean then if the bugs haven't disappeared by themselves.
And you can bake EE just as well as sand

Thanks! I'm going to look into the bugs more later on. . . I don't have much time right now besides feeding, dampening the towel and feeding. I do handle them and check on them though. there too cute to ignore. D8