Salt water salt as food?

[hermiekk]

So this is kind of a weird question but has anybody ever tried giving their hermit crabs the salt from the Instant Ocean salt water mix? Just as like a treat maybe to sprinkle over their main food? Is it nutritional? Thanks in advance!

[CallaLily]

I've seen a few hermit crab food recipes that called for sea salt or aquarium salt but I've honestly never saw the point. They have all the access they'd need to it in the sw pool.

[hermiekk]

Thank you CallaLily!

[wodesorel]

Different crystallized salts have different base elements in them. For instance, some red salts have carotene from algae in them, Himalayan Pink salt has more iron, etc. Things like that can be used the same as a mineral treat for the hermits, and people swear that they crabs enjoy them.

I personally wouldn't use the marine mix. It's pretty caustic by itself since it's human made to replicate sea water with each half cup being exactly the same as the next. When real sea water evaporates it doesn't spread the elements out evenly, and some elements crystallize before others. It's too unnatural in it's powdered form.