Crabs bought 2 weeks ago.. dead

[ryancourtney]

My boyfriend and i have recently bought 2 more crabs for our rather large tank. We had previously bought 2 from a pet store such as Petsmart and these new guys were from a little kiosk in a local mall.
The first one started to be really quiet and would just go to this one corner all the time and never would be bury himself like the others.
He just recently died. His legs started to fall off and he would sit in the water all spread out. The 2nd one that we bought from this kiosk has also lost his large claw today and is basically inactive. and slowly dying. Our other crabs have been fine.

I know the questions some of you will ask. We have fed commerial food, however upon reading some of these posts we will not be doing that any more. We have a tank thats half soft bark stuff that they like to bury under the huts in and some portion of the tank in sand. The tank is never too hot or too cold

is it possible that these two crabs were diseased ? or poision or something. cause the other ones from the other places are fine

also, if potential the crab was diseased... its it possible to keep the shells or should those go aswell
thanks for any help

[CrabbyJo]

Hi hon,
so sorry to hear of the loss of these two crabs.
I'm glad you gave some info on them, that helps determine what might have caused their deaths, especially since you have other crabs purchased elsewhere that seem to be healthy and doing fine.

First, I believe that next to a boardwalk giftshop, or maybe just as bad, a mall kiosk may be the worst place to purchase a crab. The people running it most likely know next to nothing about caring for crabs, and chances are they have been in an extremely dry and cool climate (for them) for an extended period of time. As I understand it, when a hermies gills dry out, it can cause damage that is irreparable.

Since they died so soon after you purchased them (two weeks) the most likely factor was PPS, Post Purchase Stress, due to a bad environment at the kiosk (not to mention harvesting and handling before that). The fact that your other crabs are doing well helps to confirm this.

When purchasing crabs that are in a dry/cool environment, it is best to isolate them first (Read Preventing Death), in conditions (temp and humidity) similar to those in which they had just been. 60% humidity should be the lowest, though. A crab that goes from a very dry environment to a very moist one abruptly can drown in such moist air.

Many crabbers have a 5-10 gallon glass aquarium set up like a miniature of their main tank to help new crabs acclimate before they are put into the main tank with the other crabs.

All new crabs should be left alone, undisturbed except for water and food changes, for a minimum of 2 to 3 weeks so they may destress.

It sounds also like you have coconut fiber for a substrate, which is excellent. (I'm assuming "soft bark" is cocohusk, as wood chips are not soft, and any substrate with wood chips usually has cedar, which is a big no-no for crabs).

It's excellent that you switched out from using the commercial foods. The preservatives are a slow toxin, so there isn't much chance that commercial food did them in.

We would like to help you be sure, though, just in case the new crabs were more sensitive to something that could be amiss.

What is the temperature range in your tank? Do the crabs have a warm end and a cool end, so they can regulate their body temperature?

Do you offer both fresh dechlorinated water and ocean salt water?

What is the humidity range?

Is your substrate Eco Earth (or a similar product that is 100% coconut fiber)?

[ryancourtney]

WOW . That was extremely informative and very helpful.
Our temperature range is about 72. Everything else seems to be as regulatory as Ive read from others.
I think the most plausible explanation for these two critters is the shock factor.
Its just pretty crappy that it happened.
The other 3 are doing well.
What would you say your most favored food is for your crabs ?? Just to have a good crack at it.
Thanks alot
Courtney

[CrabbyJo]

Hi Courtney,
hey, 72 is kind of cool for the crabs. it's a good temp for one end of the tank, but they really love it to reach 80 at times. It is very important, though, to have one end warm and one end cool, so they can regulate.
My tank was hovering around 72-75, and one day I accidentally left the nighttime bulb on with my daytime, and the tank reached 80 degrees. I think all the crabs came out that day! Which is to say a lot, because I'd seen little to no movement for weeks. So I leave both lights on during the day (it's about 75 at the cooler end, 80 near the warm end) and my crabs are active as can be.

Be careful when adding heat though, you have to watch the humidity. I have found it helps to cover most of the top of the tank with a little room for airflow (I use cardboard covered with saran wrap, in three pieces so I can slide them open when needed). I also have an under tank heater with the fresh water pond on top of it to help with humidity (A thermostat is a must if there is any way for the crabs to get close to the heater and cook themselves, which they will).

There are a lot of good threads in the Heating section of the forum here, go ahead and give it a browse, I'm sure you can get some good ideas.

As for food, my crabs are suddenly eating like pigs since I bumped the heat up. They seem to really like radishes, olives, any meat I cook, and bone marrow they go nuts for. Just crush any cooked bone (I use a marble rolling pin with the bone in a plastic ziplock to prevent pieces from flying) and lay it open for the crabs. I leave it for up to a week and they nibble all the time. They also enjoy cuttlebone, go nuts for organic worm castings, and when I break open a fish oil capsule (my supplement!) and pour it onto some grains in their dish, they love that too. And Apples! But I give them a good variety, and while those foods seem to always get attention (different people's crabs like different things too) I make sure and give them a good variety of protein, fresh fruit, fresh vegetable (or cooked, no seasoning), calcium, and seaweed of some sort each day.

They have coconut husk substrate as well as cork bark and mopani wood so they can get cellulose that they need, and the sand is aragonite, which is also edible for them and a good source of calcium.

A good beginner list for going natural: Going Natural Beginner's List

[Wai]

Most people are shocked by the fact that most people selling hermit crabs know nothing about them; however, I must thank you for making the effort to research online, so that you don't make the same mistakes that most other crabbers do due to not researching on quality care websites.