ANTS

[itsjoel]

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?

play sand 6 inches

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?

temp around 82-83
humidity around 80

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?

ceramic heat emitter just outside

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)?

I use salt and fresh. fresh is bottled water and salt is bottled water with a salt mix from the gift shop I got my crab at. I know that isn't great I'm not asking about that, I was just going to finish using it up and it seems fine.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?

I use a mix of different dried foods: krill, coconut, strawberry, carrot, rose petals and leaves, and marigold petals and leaves. Cuttlebone, almond, pecan, and quinoa. I replace every few days.

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?

pp 2 months

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?

two or so weeks ago

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?

10 gallon, hinged glass lid

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?

2 medium. ones molting and has been under for around 5-6 weeks

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?

I don't know 6ish?

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?

I used a natural cleaner to clean the outside of the tank and the lid

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?

I usually just spot clean the sand, wash out food and water dishes when they get sandy, clean inside of glass with water and microfiber and outside with natural cleaning spray

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?

no

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?

plastic plant but I washed it and a burlap net

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.)?

one crab is underground right now

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.

went to take a picture and saw ants swarming food dish. picked it up and saw 30 or 40 in the sand underneath so I scooped out all the sand in that area. killed any remaining ants on inside. I only started noticing them after I got a plant from home depot that I kept above the tank. I put it outside.
will the molter be okay? what should I do?
the aboveground crab seems okay, she's sleeping and turned to face the corner when I was getting out as many as I could.

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[curlysister]

It looks like your tank conditions are good, other than the salt which you will be changing (the bottled salt water isn't harmful, but does not contain all the minerals crabs need for long tern health). You will also want to treat the fresh water with a dechlorinator -bottled water isn't regulated so you have no idea what is or isn't in it.

As for your emergency, ants really are. If there are any ants left in the tank - which I suspect there probably are, given the number that you had swarming in there - the crab who is underground may be at risk of being harmed by them. You will need to very carefully dig up your crab, and be prepared to isolate him from your other crab (if he is molting and his new exo isn't hardened, the other crab could harm him). If there are ants in your sub, you will need new substrate. Some people have baked it to kill any remaining ants.

[itsjoel]

thank you so much. I've got the surfaced crab in iso and I'm putting the molting one in one now.

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[itsjoel]

It looks like your tank conditions are good, other than the salt which you will be changing (the bottled salt water isn't harmful, but does not contain all the minerals crabs need for long tern health). You will also want to treat the fresh water with a dechlorinator -bottled water isn't regulated so you have no idea what is or isn't in it.

As for your emergency, ants really are. If there are any ants left in the tank - which I suspect there probably are, given the number that you had swarming in there - the crab who is underground may be at risk of being harmed by them. You will need to very carefully dig up your crab, and be prepared to isolate him from your other crab (if he is molting and his new exo isn't hardened, the other crab could harm him). If there are ants in your sub, you will need new substrate. Some people have baked it to kill any remaining ants.

I found my molter. he's limp and smells like ammonia. I'm pretty sure he's dead but I still put him in his own iso and reburied him

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[curlysister]

No, don't re-bury him! When they molt, they have a little cave. You can't re-create the cave. So a molting crab should be in isolation with just a bit of sub in the bottom. If his exo was there, you will need to put that into exo with him so he can eat it.

[itsjoel]

dug him back up. should the smell concern me?

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[itsjoel]

my mom has a lot stronger of a sense of smell than me and as soon as she opened his iso she just was knocked back by a fish smell I didn't catch. I'm going to go bury him outside in a little bit.

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