Black Jelly like substance on my crabs abdomen and one died

coledofner12 · Post by **coledofner12** » 15 Dec 2009, 12:00

My second biggest crab, Cronos, died last week and he had this black jelly like substance on his abdomen and now all my live crabs have it. At first I thought he died of mites like the last one but there were no mites just this jelly like substance that was black. What is it? How do I get rid of it? Did it kill my crab and will it kill my others? Only two of my crabs have the jelly like substance on their abdomen and they act fine and are cooperative when I wanna check it out. Please help I don't know if it was the cause of Crono's death.

emmac350 · Post by **emmac350** » 15 Dec 2009, 14:02

Could you get a picture of this substance? It could be hermie poo, as they go into their shells. If they're healthy, though, they can clean it out of their shells regularly. Are there bubbles in the substance? If so, it could be due to overheating, which causes crabs to die no matter what you do to try to help them.

My advice is to give them a salt water bath (not any "hermit crab salt" products, but with a quality salt water aquarium salt water mix mixed to 100% strength) first and try to rinse out their shells - swirl them a bit in the water, upside-down, to try to dislodge it and get it out of their shells. Then let them flip themselves right side up again to get more of the water into their shells and hopefully clear out whatever it is.

What do your crabs eat regularly?

CrabbyJo · Post by **CrabbyJo** » 15 Dec 2009, 15:59

This may somehow be related to the mishap with the mite spray: http://hermitcrabparadise.com/forums/vi ... 026#p27026
Back in November. The jelly like substance is not anything I've heard of and would be curious to see if anyone else has any ideas.

If you can answer Emma about what food they eat regularly, as well as tell us:

What substrate are you using in your tank? If it's sand, what kind? If it's forest bedding, what brand?

Do your crabs have both ocean mix water and dechlorinated fresh water?

Do you have humidity and temperature gauges? Where are they located in the tank? (Such as center, down low, warm end up high, etc).

Once we have a little more info we can try to help you troubleshoot what may be causing the illness.

And if at all possible, as Emma suggested, a picture would be most ideal so we can see what you're seeing.

ladybug15057 · Post by **ladybug15057** » 16 Dec 2009, 14:29

CrabbyJo is correct in the link she provided. Also, is there an odor within the hermies shells or to this jelly substance?

coledofner12 · Post by **coledofner12** » 17 Dec 2009, 09:42

They eat crab cakes mostly and drink alot. They dont seem ill but it worries me. I cleaned out all the spray stuff and redid the tank.

emmac350 · Post by **emmac350** » 17 Dec 2009, 09:57

What company makes those 'crab cakes'? Is there an ingredients list on the jar?

Also, how did you clean out the spray from the tank? And what is in the tank now? Be as specific as possible - instead of 'sand' tell us what kind of sand, and every ornament in the tank. Tell us how you treat the water you offer them, including brand names for everything.

coledofner12 · Post by **coledofner12** » 17 Dec 2009, 10:16

My tank has fake plants, two sponges, a coconut hut, rock cave house, special hermit crab pool, food dish, and the substrate is finely grated walnut shell made to look like sand that is bought at Petco. I don't know what food it is. It's a local band from here in Iowa. I feed them eggshells once a week and wash them once a week. I also give them lettuce and mango. My tank is forty gallons and I have gauges and they are set to 77 degrees. Sometimes the drink from shells but not painted ones. Like you guys said it might just be crab dung but I just wanna be sure and safe. I used water to clean out the tank and thats it.

CrabbyJo · Post by **CrabbyJo** » 17 Dec 2009, 10:30

Thanks for the info so far, is there a chance of getting a picture of the substance on the crabs?

CrabbyJo · Post by **CrabbyJo** » 17 Dec 2009, 10:37

I'm looking around on the net for some opinions on crushed walnut shells as a substrate for hermit crabs, and am finding that in general, they are NOT recommended, and are in the list of substrates NOT to use. I have not found a site that explains why yet, but I really think you should see about getting some Carib Sea brand Aragonite sand (not the reptile sand though, it's too small) to replace it, or some Eco Earth bedding (coconut fiber). Also avoid "forest bedding" which, unless it states it is 100% coconut fiber, probably contains cedar or pine, which is dangerous for hermit crabs.

Post by **Wai** » 17 Dec 2009, 10:48

Check out our Nutrition Database too for substrates to avoid.

Black Jelly like substance on my crabs abdomen and one died

Black Jelly like substance on my crabs abdomen and one died

Re: Black Jelly like substance on my crabs abdomen and one died

Re: Black Jelly like substance on my crabs abdomen and one died

Re: Black Jelly like substance on my crabs abdomen and one died

Re: Black Jelly like substance on my crabs abdomen and one died

Re: Black Jelly like substance on my crabs abdomen and one died

Re: Black Jelly like substance on my crabs abdomen and one died

Re: Black Jelly like substance on my crabs abdomen and one died

Re: Black Jelly like substance on my crabs abdomen and one died

Re: Black Jelly like substance on my crabs abdomen and one died