HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I have a bad bug infestation in my tank and it’s been a while since I’ve done a deep clean, so I’m planning on just cleaning out the entire thing. I need a small tank to store the crabs for about a couple weeks. I have less than 10 crabs, they aren’t very large. Would a 10 gallon tank with barely any substrate in it work? I don’t want much substrate because I don’t want them to molt in the meantime. I’ll have all regular crabitat conditions except for substrate and they’ll be a little cramped, but I think they will be okay for a couple weeks with not much substrate. Just asking here to double check and extra advice.

i dont know about a couple weeks i know it’s temporary but 10 gallons is pretty small. i guess if you keep it very engaging and somehow fit enough places for all your crabs it might work. just try to keep it for the least amount of time possible

What kind of bugs? Most bugs in the crabitat are not harmful. You may not need to deep clean at all.

curlysister wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 09, 2021 12:41 pm

What kind of bugs? Most bugs in the crabitat are not harmful. You may not need to deep clean at all.

They are fungus gnats, I think they aren’t harmful, but they’ve been around for months and are annoying the crabs and are starting to leave the tank and fly around the house, so I just want to clean the whole thing to get rid of them. It’s also around time for the substrate to be changed anyway. I’m certain I wanna clean it, I just want to know a safe way to store the crabs for a bit until I get everything cleaned out, I just don’t want anyone burrowing while they’re out since I can’t have the tank up for a long time.

I think the ten gallon will be okay. We tend to freak out about crabs putting off molting but a healthy crab can do so for a short time safely.

Also, fungus gnats need organic matter for their eggs, so to prevent them in the future using more sand and less coconut fiber should help.


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