I've had my 10 crabs since 2006 or earlier. Originally they were both dark and pale but after the molts they were uniformly getting to be a darkish tan w/ some dark purple to it... along w/ a lot of maroon at the joints (I called FMR in 2000 and learned that the healthy crabs, in captivity, have maroon at the joints--this seems to be the truth, b/c these are also the crabs who've survived the longest). BUT in the past year or so they've been getting more pale and more purple. It's a light purple. After Aleta the Great One's first molt she was still pretty dark but this time she was pale purple and very listless. ALL of the little ones are pale purple right now. I know carotene makes them more red and calcium seems to be what makes them darker (when I was pushing the calcium supplements in the water). I'm sure about the carotene b/c I read it on here.
Their staple foods are Tetra BabyShrimp and FMR Treat. They've attacked (I mean mobbed) chicken drumsticks (I eat some and leave meat on the bones for them) in the past few weeks and perhaps that means they're short on protein? I've added Ocean Plankton to the mix b/c that's got the highest protein of anything I've read yet in my lenghty forays into the fish food section. (They won't eat any actual "hermit crab food" food, FMR or otherwise). They liked the dried bloodworms more so I'm going to get some of those when I get new substrate due to the @$#$#& mites today. Everyone also eats cuttlebone more then they used to. Even Arwen has lost the maroon at her joints and she's the crabs who eats constantly. She's due to molt in about a month. (Her favorite is FMR Treat, so she's got a lot of carotene in her so she's a bit more red than the others).
Claude the Clawless One, being hand-fed since 3/30, has been stuffed w/ all things nutritional (mostly the BabyShrimp) and he's gotten pretty dark w/ both brown and purple as well as a lot of maroon at his joints... and two healthy and growing gel-limbs where the new claws will (hopefully!) be when he molts again.
Something is nutritionally off-balance here b/c everyone else is losing the brown and retaining the purple. They're becoming LAVENDER. It's not something I've read online yet... I know two of them are getting to be pre-molt. Any suggestions from our good gourmets?
