Baths

[Chermo]

Hi..stupid question but how do you properly make salt water?

First go out and get Oceanic (fish dept)(petsmart has it for under $5) then you put get an empty 1 gallon milk container and clean it out really good using no soap. Put in 8 tablespoons of the oceanic sea salt and add some declorinator according to the directions and fill with tap water and let it sit out till it is room temp. You will also have to shake it to disolve the salt. Then you can use it for their baths, spraying your substrate etc...

[HermieLove19]

Well you can use Oceanic or some other type of sea salt at a pet store and mix it by the gallon. I know Petco sells what they call real ocean water and it's natural, from the ocean and it's already PH balanced but that gets a little pricey. You can use what I've been using just because it was convenient. I get the Zoo Med Salt water conditioner. You go to the drug store and get a gallon of distilled water for 99 cents. Then you put in the whole little plastic container of sea salt mixture into the gallon of water. They give you a packet of regular water conditioner in case you used tap water.

At the hermitcrabaddictionstore.com they sell a little packet of sea salt and you can just put that into the gallon of water you have and it last quite a while. It's alot easier then making your own little mixture each time you need to fill the salt water bowl which is daily unless you have a pump in the bowl aerating the water.

[Chermo]

It is not that hard to mix it together and you get more for your money this way. The oceanic makes 5 gallons and 1 gallon lasts me over a week. I just shake it before I pour it in the water dish just in case the salt was not disolved all the way even though it is. I get 5 to 6 weeks of salt water for under $5 which includes the water declorinizer.

[erikleeson]

Really? I made a gallon of saline water about 3 weeks ago, and I got a quarter left. It'll usually last me about a month. I use salt water for drinking, bathing and refreshing shells only. What I do is every day I mix up 2 cups of fresh water, then I use some for drinking, some for misting and the rest I dump in the tank too moisten the sand. Works well

[Chermo]

Really? I made a gallon of saline water about 3 weeks ago, and I got a quarter left. It'll usually last me about a month. I use salt water for drinking, bathing and refreshing shells only. What I do is every day I mix up 2 cups of fresh water, then I use some for drinking, some for misting and the rest I dump in the tank too moisten the sand. Works well

I use salt water for everything except the fresh water bowl. I use the salt water to mist, salt water dish, baths, boiling shells and other stuff that needs boiling. I have noticed I used it alot so far and now that I am not boiling stuff as much it may slow down. I just know that the one gallon has lasted me maybe 2 weeks, I am sure now that I am not adding so much stuff to the tank the use will slow down.

[erikleeson]

Hi..stupid question but how do you properly make salt water?

Go to your pet shop and buy some aquarium salt. Instant Ocean, Doc Wellfish, and Oceanic are all good choices. Mix up the instructions for making a batch of water. Try and get a salt package that has instructions for mixing up 1 gallon of water. If your salt water package has multiple options for directions, follow the one for hatching brine shrimp The other ones are usually for healing fish.
Fill up an empty milk jug of distilled water. Add the required salt. It should be alot more than you expected, My 1 gallon batch used half of a 15 oz box.

Use this salt water for disinfecting new items, bathing, drinking, and optionally misting.
Good luck!

[Mr.Crab]

QUESTION: Okay I need some help. I have a glass bowl which is big enough so they wont slam into each other, now how deep should it be for them to clean themselves? up to there eyes? like an inch above there feet? I don't get it. I have saltwater conditioner(http://www.petco.com/product/13638/Zoo- ... ioner.aspx) so I'll make that and I hope it will work.(answer soon cuz im gonna do this whenever someones answers this.)

and should it be warm saltwater? or cold saltwater? or just room tempature?

[Mr.Crab]

bump^^ please answer my question above(sry)

[Chermo]

The only part I can answer is that the water temp needs to be room temperature. Never hot or cold. If it helps my water is about 1" deep for my medium crabs. I am not sure but I know they go in it and are able to still have their eyes out when they are out of their shells (not fully out but walking out is what I mean). I just use water dishes that are in the reptile section and they are corner dishes which I love because they are out of the way, I don't use my corners much for anything else so the corner dishes are great.

[Mr.Crab]

thx chermo ill give em a bath tonight or tommoz