Mysterious Plant Growing in Crabititat

argoandcliffthecrabs · Post by **argoandcliffthecrabs** » Sun Sep 10, 2017 8:09 pm

Tonight I went to mist the crab tank before bed, and noticed a small green plant sprouting from beneath my crab's food bowl, which is placed under a climbing branch. I checked a plant-identifying app and it couldn't tell me what it was as it was typically used for adult plants, not sprouts. I have never planted any sort of seeds in my tank and the substrate is eco earth that I got from PetSmart. Occasionally I would find mold where a piece of food fell out of the bowl and soaked up enough water to get moldy, but I have never seen any sort of plant in my tank. I would add a picture if I knew how to or if I could, but I'm new to this website so I'm not sure. If anyone could let me know what it is and how it got there quickly, that would be great.
Also the type of eco earth I got comes in a block that you soak in water to expand, if that helps.
Thank you!

Giner13 · Post by **Giner13** » Sun Sep 10, 2017 8:18 pm

Do you have a picture??

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soilentgringa · Post by **soilentgringa** » Sun Sep 10, 2017 9:41 pm

Have you ever fed your crab a food mix that had seeds?

Could also have been a stray seed that blew in while the EE was being processed.

Maybe a crab even ate a tiny seed and it came out in their poop. (I don't know if this happens but it could; many seeds are spread through ingestion and defecation by animals.)

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Post by **aussieJJDude** » Mon Sep 11, 2017 5:34 am

This may help! http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... =8&t=87783

(Uploading pictures can be confusing at first, but you get use to it rather quickly.)

argoandcliffthecrabs · Post by **argoandcliffthecrabs** » Mon Sep 11, 2017 5:37 am

Yes, I do have a picture. The plant is growing out from underneath the food dish. I don't know how to post it though, as I am new to this website.

LadyJinglyJones · Post by **LadyJinglyJones** » Tue Sep 12, 2017 10:50 am

I know I'm derailing, and it's very bad of me - but the snake pic in the photo tutorial is gorgeous! I want to pet that snake. I want to be best friends with it. That snake is dreamy. It is the most beautiful snake ever.

Okay, I'm done.

argoandcliffthecrabs · Post by **argoandcliffthecrabs** » Tue Sep 12, 2017 3:11 pm

I have the image here. I apologize for it taking so long, as posting it was quite confusing. I have now removed the plant and moved it to a plastic cup with some extra eco earth that I had in it to see what it grows to be.

NLindsey921 · Post by **NLindsey921** » Tue Sep 12, 2017 5:16 pm

There was a probably a seed in-something you fed them and they knocked it out the bowl. My crabs do ot all the time with chia seeds.

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Giner13 · Post by **Giner13** » Tue Sep 12, 2017 5:24 pm

That's what it looks like to me too!

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argoandcliffthecrabs · Post by **argoandcliffthecrabs** » Tue Sep 12, 2017 6:02 pm

Thank you all for all the help! I haven't fed my crabs seeds of any kind before, and the food I usually feed them does not seem to contain any seeds, as far as I know. It must have been in the eco earth as I changed out the old substrate about two weeks ago, which would have given the plant time to sprout. The plant is doing well in its cup I planted it in. I'm quite curious as to what it could be, so hopefully I can grow it to its full size. Again, thanks for all the help!

Post by **aussieJJDude** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 1:55 am

Judging by its shape and since you mentioned that you have never fed seeds/nuts, I might suggest it is a palm or fern of some sort.

argoandcliffthecrabs · Post by **argoandcliffthecrabs** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 10:05 pm

That is definitely a possibility!
I'm not the kind of person to be good at taking care of plants, so I just try to mimic the environment the plant grew in in the crabitat. I mist it about whenever I mist the crabitat and keep it in the sun. Unfortunately it's not exactly the same, but the plant has grown a bit, and it looks the same as it did in the picture, just a bit taller.

argoandcliffthecrabs · Post by **argoandcliffthecrabs** » Tue Oct 03, 2017 8:04 pm

It’s been a while, so I thought I’d give an update.
The plant is doing well in the cup I planted it in. It has gotten bigger and stronger and has fully grown a second, and has begin a third leaf. It’s taller too and the leaves are slightly longer. I still have no clue what it is, though.

Post by **aussieJJDude** » Tue Oct 03, 2017 9:07 pm

This thread is worthless without update pics!

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argoandcliffthecrabs · Post by **argoandcliffthecrabs** » Tue Jun 26, 2018 5:00 pm

I apologize for not adding to this, the plant just looked the same but with an extra leaf and died a while ago. I have no clue what it was, however I thank everyone for all the help.

HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Mysterious Plant Growing in Crabititat

Mysterious Plant Growing in Crabititat

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