Crab Deaths

[Dobie]

So starting from June until now,I had acquired 10 Hermit crabs. They live in a huge tank with plenty of food,water,room to adventure and warmth. And all of their other necessitates. Last week I lifted of this heavy rock like bowl that is used for water,and I found a body of a crab. The shell was no where to be found. Since I have 10,I don't know what shell it was in and another crab may have took it. I was thinking maybe the crab was trapped? I didn't find all of the body,just most of it. Including several legs and the big claw. So unless that was a molt,I'm assuming it was a dead crab. So that brought me down to 9. I was justing cleaning it again and found another crab. He is about half way in his shell but not moving at all. I don't want to assume its dead because its not completely out of its shell,nor is it moving easily. So I don't know what to do. I have the crab out so I can watch it. Is it probably dead? I don't know what is going on in my tank. They were living fine for 6 months. I keep it nice and warm and humid in there and they have everything they need.

[hermitcrab24]

Do you have an isolation tank? If so place the crab in it, if not, block him off from your other crabs.

can you please fill out the emergency form?

I am very sorry I don't know how to post a link, I will try to figure it out.

[hermitcrab24]

http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 27&t=46102

[hermitcrab24]

Yay!! It worked

Okay so please copy and paste this into a reply and fill it out. This will help us get a better idea of your conditions.

[megmaholm]

If you can fill out the emergency form that hermitcrab24 linked, that would help us take a look and see if anything jumps out.

For the crab you found under the water bowl, I don't think he was trapped - my guys dig under stuff all the time and when they come back up, they'll just dig around until there's nothing blocking them. If he was naked and parts were missing, he may have been mid-molt and had his shell stolen by another crab.

For the current crab, don't assume death until he smells. Like hermitcrab24 said, I would isolate him until you can figure out what's going on.

[Dobie]

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

Coconut fiber, about 3 inches deep.

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?

yes,they are on the glass. the temp is usually around 90 and the humidity is usually around 80%

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

yes,day and night light bulbs

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)?

fresh and salt. I use the water you buy in jugs I think its called distilled. For salt I use the hermit crab salt mix I use a teaspoon.

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

I use a meal mixture that has worms in it and other pieces of food for hermit crabs. It is replaced every couple days.

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

Ive had them all for 5 - 6 months and Im not sure of the species but the crab has a blue tint on it.

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

a tank. Its 30 gallons if i remember right,and it has a wire lid,however i put clear wrap over it and then the lid to keep the moisture in. I poke holes in the wrap.

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

9. Most are small - medium while 2 are big,not but very big.

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

around 15

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

No

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

Around every two weeks. I take out all the crabs and dump the substrate and rinse the tank out and put in new substrate and fresh food and water.

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

yes. I rinse them and pick the dirt out with a tooth brush. (was never used by a human,only use for cleaning crab things.)

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

No

14. 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.)?

No

15. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.

In first post.

[Teedeums]

Maybe try to take down the general temp of the tank a bit, not all crabs like it so high, and it could be part of the problem? And also the dead crab with the missing shell might have been attacked because you don't have enough shells to choose from, crabs can be very finicky with stuff like that. Hope this helps!

[megmaholm]

A few things caught my eye, so I'll address them in order:

1. You'll want to deepen your substrate. The minimum suggested depth is 6", and more is always better. It should be at least 3x as deep as your largest crab is tall. Shallow substrate won't allow the crabs to dig deep enough to safely molt. Some crabbers use just straight coconut fiber like you, but a cheaper solution to get deep substrate is to get playsand from your home improvement store and mix it with the cocofiber, and moisten it to sandcastle consistency.

4. For their saltwater, you'll want to use a marine grade salt such as Instant Ocean. The hermit salt mix won't hurt them, but it doesn't have all the necessary vitamins and minerals and such that will contribute to good, healthy molts.

11. It's recommended to only do a deep once or twice a year, if at all. Frequent cleaning can disrupt their molt cycle and stress them out.

12. Honestly, I would ditch the sponges. They harbor bacteria and are pretty gross and a pain to sterilize.

[hermitcrab24]

Yes, like Teedeums said, there may not be enough shells. We recommend 3 or 4 shells per crab.

Also, the substrate needs to be three times deep as your biggest crab is tall, or 6 inches.

You don't need to clean your tank that often. It may stress out your crabs to be moved so much, and it really isn't necessary. Also just makes more work for you.

And you can toss the sponges. The can carry bacteria that can harm your crabs, and they really aren't needed. If you are afraid of your crabs drowning, you can add some sort of steps, plants or something like that to help them get in and out.

[hermitcrab24]

oops, posted at the same time. Great minds think alike

[aldebaron0626]

Will you also post a picture of your crabs? 10 in a 30 gallon might be a few too many (depending on their size) and blue-ish color makes me instantly think they are Es. Es need more room than PPs and overcrowding them may lead to attacks. Es seem to be more aggressive.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk