HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Someone gave me a bunch of cholla last week and I noticed these black bumps on one of them. Has anyone ever seen this? Are they a fungus or perhaps plant spores? They pop right off if I use a fingernail, but I don't want to add a problem into my tank...

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I’m not sure what it is but maybe boil in saltwater? Hopefully someone else can identify it to make sure if even boiling is safe, whatever it may be.

I was looking on a freshwater aquarium forum, and someone else had something similar (not exactly like yours though). They were saying that they could be bacteria colonies. Hopefully someone else on here will know for sure!

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They are so uniform that it's interesting! I would guess fruiting bodies of a fungus? They also look like insect poop of some sort, but I'd think you'd notice whatever was doing it if it was.

(Also, really nice macro skills!)

Is it possible to cut one open and see whats inside? I've never seen this before, and not really have a clue on what it is.

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I put everything away this morning so I can wrap presents. I'll have to take a closer look later and see if I can't figure it out or post some other pics. I'm also going to contact the lady who gave them to me to see ifshe can't shed some light on the issue. Oh, and that's my Samsung Note 10+, I can't take too much credit for the pictures!

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This is what she told me when I asked:

It's probably fine, but I couldn't figure out what it is. I bought a box of remnants. I do remember that the Etsy seller knew they were going to be used for hermit crabs so she hand picked longer pieces from her remnants for me, and I think she has hermies herself. I boiled it and then baked it dry. The seller said it was organic and not treated with anything. That one piece had those black bumps on it when I received it. I'm honestly not sure what they are either, so I didn't leave it in the tank all the time, just to be safe.

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The more I look at them, the more I think they are insect eggs. They've been well treated so nothing is going to come of it. If you're on FB, there are some great insect ID groups that could say for sure. BugGuide.Net has an identification forum as well.

Ok...kids are at the movies and I grabbed the microscope. Btw, it's really REALLY HARD to take a pic from the microscope without an attachment. It's the best I could do. The pics are all using a 10x lens.

I'm leaning towards insect case. The 1st 2 are close ups of the outside. The next is a pic of the inside after I crushed one. If you can see the crystal-like shapes, I thought they almost look like a secreted lining that broke away. The last 2 are from 2 different cases that looked like a chamber with something inside. An egg hatching or insect pupating perhaps.

Any other thoughts?


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I agree with you 100%, looks like some type of shell/casing to me.

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