Funky smell but no signs of death?!

[Meegz]

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
- Combination of beach sand, and coconut fibres, roughly 10cm deep

2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read?
- There are two gauges at either end of the tank, humidity is about 70-90 temp usually 20-30 degrees Celsius.
-
3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
- yes two heat mats, in one corner of tank as it has just been winter here

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)?
- We have a Freshwater pool and saltwater pool, sea salt used to mix

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
- Every couple of days, or every day depending on type of food, apples, avocado, lettuce, popcorn, as well as died sea mix

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
- have had crabs for 5 months, not sure of species, purchased from a pet store in australia

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
- we have had several molts and shell swaps, last one was probably a month ago? We have some long time buried as well

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
- 120 litre aquarium tank with two glass side by side lids

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
- We have 10 ranging from small to medium in size

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
- We currently have 33 spare shells

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
- No

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
- Have not had a chance to clean any substrate yet as there is always been someone buried

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?
- Yes, rinsed with boiling declorinated water and cooled before returning

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?
- no

15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)?
- no

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.

Hello,
We have had our 10 hermit crabs for about 5 months now, we have watched several shell changes and have seen several successful molts. At any given time we roughly have 7 active or visable crabs, with each taking different turns to be active or buried at any time, some stayed buried for 2months after purchase and are active now however, 3 who were active after purchase have been not seen for maybe 2 months now.

About a week ago, 5 of the crabs all started buring themselves underneath the salt pool bowl causing it to tip and spill- more than once. Two days ago when I was cleaning the food bowl (other end of tank), I could smell a ‘funky’ smell coming from the area near the salt pool, I picked up the pool to see if perhaps the worst had happened for one of the crabs, but there was no sign of anyone, I changed the waters and put the pools back in place incase there may have been a water problem. The next day the smell was still there, no better but no worse, I got my husband to just have a little look and fluff some substrate to see if he could find the smells source, and still nothing but smell has not gone away.

Im worried the smell might be the "death smell" although I have to admit it doesn’t seem ‘fishy’ just more like “off smell” but if it is a death smell, the dead crab must be buried! but I don’t want to go digging around and disturb any healthy crabs, once they bury we have no idea where they are, and besides the 3 that have been down for a few months now, everyone else is accounted for and healthy.

however I also read somewhere about bacteria in damp sand sometimes being a problem? Is it possible that this smell is caused from the salt pool being tipped over twice and the sand/fibres underneath getting wet but then the pool put back in same spot so it wasn’t able to dry? And if so how do we fix it?

Any advice or help would be much appreciated!!

[PinchersAndShells]

Hello! I responded using P&S

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
- Combination of beach sand, and coconut fibres, roughly 10cm deep
P&S: Substrate should be at least 15.24 CM deep or three times the size of your largest crab (whichever is deeper.) This allows them to dig and shed their exoskeleton, which is called molting. During this time the crab is very soft, and if one of your crabs comes across another crab that happens to be molting it will eat the molting crab.

2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read?
- There are two gauges at either end of the tank, humidity is about 70-90 temp usually 20-30 degrees Celsius.
P&S: Many crabbers recommend that your humidity be near 80%, and your temperature be at least 23.8 degrees Celcius (below is too cold). I notice my crabs like it better when my temperature is between 26.7 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
- yes two heat mats, in one corner of tank as it has just been winter here

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)?
- We have a Freshwater pool and saltwater pool, sea salt used to mix
P&S: Both waters should be treated with a dechlorinator, and the salt water should be made with marine salt from the fish section of the pet store. Freshwater salt or sea salt meant for cooking does not provide the crabs with what they need.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
- Every couple of days, or every day depending on type of food, apples, avocado, lettuce, popcorn, as well as died sea mix
P&S: Make sure your crabs are getting protein as well, they need both foliage/fruit as well as protein and calcium. If you check out our safe food list in the Food and Water section you could get an idea of what kinds of things are safe to feed.

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
- have had crabs for 5 months, not sure of species, purchased from a pet store in australia
P&S: If they were purchased in Australia they are most likely Aussie hermit crabs. However if they are bright red in coloration they would be strawberries.

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
- we have had several molts and shell swaps, last one was probably a month ago? We have some long time buried as well

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
- 120 litre aquarium tank with two glass side by side lids

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
- We have 10 ranging from small to medium in size
P&S: I'm not quite sure of the temperament of Aussies, but I personally think that your crabs need a larger tank. In the United States we usually use a rule of 5-10 gallons per crab.

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
- We currently have 33 spare shells

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
- No

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
- Have not had a chance to clean any substrate yet as there is always been someone buried
P&S: Unless there is an emergency such as flooding or a bacterial bloom there should be no reason to change the substrate. Just spot cleaning for food or crab poop should suffice.

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?
- Yes, rinsed with boiling declorinated water and cooled before returning
P&S: Crabs don't really need sponges in their water dishes. They don't really add anything to the humidity and the crabs should be able to fully submerge in their water dishes.

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?
- no

15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)?
- no

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.

Hello,
We have had our 10 hermit crabs for about 5 months now, we have watched several shell changes and have seen several successful molts. At any given time we roughly have 7 active or visable crabs, with each taking different turns to be active or buried at any time, some stayed buried for 2months after purchase and are active now however, 3 who were active after purchase have been not seen for maybe 2 months now.

About a week ago, 5 of the crabs all started buring themselves underneath the salt pool bowl causing it to tip and spill- more than once. Two days ago when I was cleaning the food bowl (other end of tank), I could smell a ‘funky’ smell coming from the area near the salt pool, I picked up the pool to see if perhaps the worst had happened for one of the crabs, but there was no sign of anyone, I changed the waters and put the pools back in place incase there may have been a water problem. The next day the smell was still there, no better but no worse, I got my husband to just have a little look and fluff some substrate to see if he could find the smells source, and still nothing but smell has not gone away.

Im worried the smell might be the "death smell" although I have to admit it doesn’t seem ‘fishy’ just more like “off smell” but if it is a death smell, the dead crab must be buried! but I don’t want to go digging around and disturb any healthy crabs, once they bury we have no idea where they are, and besides the 3 that have been down for a few months now, everyone else is accounted for and healthy.

however I also read somewhere about bacteria in damp sand sometimes being a problem? Is it possible that this smell is caused from the salt pool being tipped over twice and the sand/fibres underneath getting wet but then the pool put back in same spot so it wasn’t able to dry? And if so how do we fix it?

Any advice or help would be much appreciated!!

Could you provide pictures of the effected substrate? If you use the Tapatalk app you can upload from there, or upload it to another website and copy and paste the image url into the img brackets. Does it smell like sulfur or like a chemical smell? Or just an earthy smell? Usually bacteria blooms smell like sulfur and are black or red in coloration.
If this describes the substrate you are talking about then you may either need to remove the effected substrate or do a full substrate change. You should dig carefully and use a spoon to pick up any molting crabs and the substrate around them, then put them in containers to isolate them. Molting in a bacterial bloom can kill the crabs. This would also be a good opportunity to increase your substrate depth.

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