HELP! Are my crabs okay?

[googie212]

Okay, so yesterday we purchased a 10 gallon tank and I got a baby hermit crab and my two siblings each got a crab. Well, today I decided to gently wash off the sand on them, and I TOTALLY forgot that tap water has chlorine in it and it's bad for hermies, and I thoroughly washed each baby crab's body and shell under the sink. Will they be okay???????????

[Ginger]

Hi Googie, if you could tell us the information that you know about hermit crabs and the full list of supplies that you have it would help us to further give you advice. To answer you direct question, yes, this is quite bad for them as it is suspected to harm their 'gills'. Do you have a dechlorinator? It usually comes in a dropper bottle, used to treat water to rid it of chlorine, chloramines, heavy metals etc. These can be found at any decent pet store, labelled for aquarium use. If you do not, distilled or spring bottled water is fine also. You need to rinse them in either of these solutions as soon as possible.

[GitaBooks]

I really hope they are okay. With just one wash of the water, they should be okay though.

Congrats on getting the crabs through!

[ladybug15057]

Hermies regardless of species should have both ocean salt and fresh water at their disposal 24/7.

[aussieJJDude]

I think it should be ok. If it was constant and multiple exposures I'd say that they may of suffered some damages but honestly they should be fine. At most, a quick wash in dechlorinated water to flush out the "nasty chemicals" might be needed, but they should be fine.