New Crabber needing advice...

[klbroad]

I am new to Hermies, it's only been about 6 months, and need some advice about buying additional crabs, I currently have one tiny little thing, Lady Penelope. I lost Mr Herman on Thursday for reasons totally unknown to me. I am so sad about losing him, he was normal on Tuesday night but totally dead by Thursday night? I am buying a larger tank tomorrow, moving from a 10g to a 55g, I do not want to buy dozens of crabs (just yet!!). I just feel really inspired by some of the Crabitats I have seen posted here and figured there was no such thing as too much playroom for my girl and soon to be new additions.

Any advice that anyone could give me about getting the new crabs would be greatly appreciated.
Things like, How many? What size, if it matters with Lady Penelope being so little? Things to look for with the crabs? I am going to have to pick one of the evils, but which, if any, is better, a petsmart or a mall stand?

I am willing to listen to any advice that y'all are willing to give me, I am ashamed to admit that I started out very very ignorant to what these sweet little things need, but as I grew more and more attached to them I have been trying to learn.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

Kara

[Chermo]

I can tell you don't buy anymore till you have your 55g and keep you 10g up and running for ISOing the new crabs, you never know if they will or won't have mites. They need to be in ISO for at least 4 weeks and if they didn't dig down in that 4 weeks you can move them to the bigger tank after giving everyone a bath even the old one so they all smell the same. If they do have mites you need to bathe them in a strong salt water bath and wait in ISO till all mites are gone. I have never had it happen to me but I hear mites are a pain to get rid of. Also if you look for the crabs that are up walking around in the store they are the better ones to get, ask to see and hold them. If they come out of their shell for you they are the ones to get. If not you never know once they get in great conditions they may come around. Oh and with ISOing you need to slowly raise the humidity from the petstore conditions to your main tank conditions which will also take about 4 weeks as you slowly take them up each 4 to 5 days.

[Wai]

Also, ask the pet store owners how long they've had their current batch of hermit crabs for. Those that have been recently brought in tend to have a better chance of surviving under your care, because the time that they've spent suffering in the pet store is minimal.

I bought my two hermit crabs from a pet store in the city, because they get new batches of crabs regularly.

[klbroad]

Thanks so much you guys, heading off now to buy the new tank and toys - I am going to wait until next week to get the crabs, based on Chermo's advice.

Kara

[ladybug15057]

With the newbies, depending on what the conditions are like at the petstore, you may wish to have a shallow substrate so they cannot dig within it, and have a couple hidey huts for them to seek shelter in. They should stay on the surface to encourage eating and drinking, something that is a must to help them adjust.

http://crabstreetjournal.com/xoops/modu ... storyid=22

I am sorry to hear that you lost one after 6 months, how sad.
May I ask a couple questions?
What was the humidity percentage of your tank, and where was the guage located? (did you calibrate/test it for accuracy?)
What was the air temp of the tank, and the substrate temp on the warmish and cooler side of the tank?
What were you using as a substrate?
Were you offering a dechlorinated ocean/sea water pond and if so what brand were you using?
What (if any) dechlorinator do you use?

[klbroad]

For the last three months I have been using a coconut fiber bedding, with parts about 4” deep, I do not recall the brand name and do not have spare on hand, since the impromptu deep clean after Herman died. I have calci-sand at the very end of the tank where I have the water dish – I only use bottled water as I was too confused with the math trying to use the chlor-out (it never occurred to me to make a gallon and save it...) I did not know about salt water until joining this group, same thing for substrate temp. The air temp was always between 72-78 and although I had some battles keeping the humidity up, I generally manage to maintain 70-75% - I live in Arizona so it is actually more like a war!! My gauge matched my AC when I bought it 3 months ago – although I did not think to check it since.....

Flash was my other crab and he was a sad little thing from the start, missing a leg and in a shell too small for him, he could barely get any of his legs inside - I was at the mall and could not leave him behind, he died during his first molt about 4 weeks after I got him.

Lady Penelope however is more active now than she has ever been, I am not sure if she misses Mr Herman and is running around looking for him, or if she is glad that he is gone?

Always willing to learn....

Kara

[ladybug15057]

May I suggest to steer away from the calsi sand in the larger tank? It is very expensive and really not worth the money. It is a drying substrate and pulls dampness. It also can become almost as hard as a rock if it is damp and begins to dry.
Unless it is distilled/pure bottle water, one should use a dechlorinator. But even using a dechlorinator on tap water, it does not remove fluoride from tap water. (fluoride is known to cause mutations/deformities in zoea, but not research has been done on if it effects adult hermies)

[klbroad]

Will do, thanks for the advice. I have a good chlorine/fluoride remover that I use for my fish and we have filters on all of our faucets, I have always used Dasani or Aquafina, as this is what I have in the house. May become a little more expensive with a much larger tank, but I would like to continue using the bottled water, if it is okay for them?

[ladybug15057]

News flash... our bottled drinking water here is not all it is meant to be! (Looking at your info, I see you did not pick a country flag?)

I could of choked when our local news channel aired this:

http://crabbywiki.com/tiki-index.php?pa ... Impure+Too

If it is like the Brita tap filer?

http://crabbywiki.com/tiki-index.php?page=Brita+filters

And may I ask, what dechlorinator do you have that removes fluoride from tap water?

http://crabbywiki.com/tiki-index.php?pa ... hlorinator

[klbroad]

I use aquasafe, and after closer inspection of the label it is actually very non specific of the elements that it removes? I am assuming from the tone of your question that I am an "idyot" for assuming that fluoride would be one of them?

Okay, so the news on bottled water was a shock to the system, and I want a refund, we get through several cases a week in my house. The water from the fridge is filtered - i have no idea of the brand and we have reverse osmosis on our faucet water.

It is starting to feel a little overwhelming, there is a downside to all of the options!

What would you recommend?

Willing to learn...

Kara