substrate- tap water

[ATS]

Hi! I recently purchased a hermit crab....and after reading this forum am finding that much of the info I got at the pet store was not correct. I specifically asked if I could use tap water for fluffing out the substrate and was told yes...that only the water dish needed to be dechlorinated. They encouraged me to use only the Eco Earth/coco fiber stuff and no sand. The crab has been in the tank with substrate that was fluffed out with tap water for about 20 hours. Do I need to swap that out quickly? I don't want to be hurting him! Also, I applied a UTH to the back side of the tank as instructed, but cannot feel much warmth coming from it at all. Any help is appreciated!

I have read here that very large tanks may be required eventually and that crabs prefer friends. We could possibly add 1 more crab but would need a larger tank (current one is only 10 gallons). I have to be realistic with the space in my house. I can't see us being able to have more than a 20-30 gallon tank. Is that enough for 2 crabs, once grown?

[JTKermie]

We pretty much all started out in a similar way!

You need to use dechlorinated tap water for their fresh and salt water pools and for misting the moss when needing to raise humidity. They need ~80F and 80% humidity. You do this by keeping a tight lid over their tank. The substrate should be pet safe play sand and eco earth in a 5:1 ratio and it needs to be deep. At least 3x as deep as the biggest crab, preferably deeper.

Most of us used Seachem Prime for a dechlorinator and you need marine salt mix for the salt water pool. Not standard aquarium salt.

[ATS]

Thanks for the help! I think I will start fresh. Each pet store person told me something different. But I think form this forum, I have learned to use play sand and eco earth in a 5:1 ratio....and the fluff it with dechlorinated water. Can the water be distilled water or do you have to use tap water with the dechlorinator added?

[curlysister]

You absolutely can use all eco earth for the substrate!! And you don't need to replace it all if you used regular tap water to moisten it. The chlorine will not be in a big enough concentration to harm them at all.

Play sand and eco earth mixed is commonly used because it is a bit easier to maintain - but all play sand or all eco earth is absolutely safe, and used by many crabbers. Or you can use a mix in pretty much any ratio you want. If you use a mixture, you can mix it together, layer it, or put it side by side. The important part is that it is 'sand castle consistency' so that it holds shape when the crabs make tunnels and caves, and does not collapse on them.

Crabs need a variety of minerals in their water. Using tap water and a dechlorinator ensures they get minerals from ground water. And then using marine salt ensures they get ocean minerals too. Those are for the drinking/ bathing pools. But you could use distilled for moistening your substrate.

[ATS]

Thank you so very much! I am grateful to have a place to ask questions and get answers I can trust:) Really want to take good care of these crabs.

[crabocado]

I am one who uses 100% eco earth and I (and my crab) have been happy with that setup for 9-10 years or so.

As far as crabs' social needs (or not), I haven't seen a clear consensus. I have had just one crab for the past several years. I started with several crabs in a small tank, and all but one died - I tend to suspect cannibalism (although also, there was no salt water yet). I've upgraded my crab's tank and conditions (e.g. adding salt water) over the years, but I've avoided adding other crabs for fear of cannibalism. Many, probably most, crabbers keep multiple crabs, and I'm sure they will tell you that cannibalism is not a worry, assuming proper care. However as I understand it, one is supposed to monitor the crabs for pre-molt behavior and then move the crab into an isolation tank. I would worry about that happening when I am out of town. So to eliminate those headaches, I prefer keeping mine solo. House space is a concern for me too, and it was not easy to find a place for the new 20-gallon tank. My crab is large (having grown for 9-10 years from a tiny crab) and I really can't imagine having another large crab in the same tank. Of course the down side of a solo crab is quite literally, the "down" side, i.e. that they spend a couple or few months each year molting "down under" and you have no crabs to enjoy. The other thing is I am very attached to this one crab as you can imagine, where I tend to be perhaps overprotective, whereas if I had several crabs I perhaps wouldn't worry as much. p.s. As far as keeping the crab "stimulated", I do take her out of the cage most nights - that's another topic for debate though.

[CrabbyLover77]

I am one who uses 100% eco earth and I (and my crab) have been happy with that setup for 9-10 years or so.

As far as crabs' social needs (or not), I haven't seen a clear consensus. I have had just one crab for the past several years. I started with several crabs in a small tank, and all but one died - I tend to suspect cannibalism (although also, there was no salt water yet). I've upgraded my crab's tank and conditions (e.g. adding salt water) over the years, but I've avoided adding other crabs for fear of cannibalism. Many, probably most, crabbers keep multiple crabs, and I'm sure they will tell you that cannibalism is not a worry, assuming proper care. However as I understand it, one is supposed to monitor the crabs for pre-molt behavior and then move the crab into an isolation tank. I would worry about that happening when I am out of town. So to eliminate those headaches, I prefer keeping mine solo. House space is a concern for me too, and it was not easy to find a place for the new 20-gallon tank. My crab is large (having grown for 9-10 years from a tiny crab) and I really can't imagine having another large crab in the same tank. Of course the down side of a solo crab is quite literally, the "down" side, i.e. that they spend a couple or few months each year molting "down under" and you have no crabs to enjoy. The other thing is I am very attached to this one crab as you can imagine, where I tend to be perhaps overprotective, whereas if I had several crabs I perhaps wouldn't worry as much. p.s. As far as keeping the crab "stimulated", I do take her out of the cage most nights - that's another topic for debate though.

If substrate depth is the recommended 6", or 3x the height of your biggest crab, there is no need to remove crabs from the tank when they are going to molt or are molting.

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