Bit of a Rant

[emmac350]

So this is a bit of a rant, and as best as I can tell this is the best location. Marie, you'll probably be interested.

I've been following the Crabstreet tumblr for a good long while - I run The Daily Hermit over there and do have several crab related blogs I follow. So when they posted a call for more adopters or foster homes for crabs I filled out the form. After all, I've had crabs since 2008, and two of those original ones are still with me today. I realize I've had a few losses, though a good deal of those were while I was living overseas and the crabs were with sitters for 2-3 years at a time.

But when I got the email back I was basically told that I wouldn't be approved as an adopter because I use 100% coconut fiber as a substrate. The only way I would be approved is if I changed my mix to 1/2 brick coconut fiber to 50 pounds of playsand. My initial reaction was to thank her and then decline, I've been using EE happily for 6 years, I'm not changing because someone else tells me to. I sent the email yesterday.

But then...it's been bugging me today. For one thing, because I did a lot of research on substrates since I started crabbing. I started out with playsand, but it felt really coarse. I looked into the methods used to make playsand, I compared it with natural sand and the difference was unbelievable (jagged-edged particles with metal shavings and unidentifiable chunks of unknown materials vs. smooth, rounded grains). So I changed out all of my sand for a natural aragonite sand and things were good. I added upper levels and decided to put a bit of coconut fiber in them and the crabs barely left those things. At all. They chose to molt in an inch of coconut fiber that barely covered them instead of the sand. Maybe my crabs are just strange, but that is why I chose the substrate I did.

I get that a site like theirs wants to vet people who are volunteering to take in pets. I do. But saying that you can't unless you use exactly their approved substrate and having zero tolerance for anything different seems wrong to me. If I was using something unsafe like Calci-Sand, then yes, asking me to change my substrate before I could adopt is fair. But they made it seem like they're so desperate for adopters, only to turn me down over a personal preference for what I use in my tank. And that is where my problem is.

I'm considering writing this up, including sources and images of the sand grains to compare and contacting them, but it feels a bit...petty? I don't know how to approach this. Substrate is a preference, as long as it's either sand, coconut fiber, or a combination of the two. Their rules on how many gallons per crab also seemed a bit off to me (10 gallons per crab is fine if the crabs are huge, but that also doesn't take into account anything else in the tank like upper levels, etc.) especially given the things that the account posts about their setup, but again I don't want to get into a flame war or try to start a rivalry. I'm just a bit miffed that they got so...legalistic about everything?

Please help me figure this out. I don't want to be replying in anger, but at the same time the way they responded did make me angry, but I want to be sure it isn't me personally being angry over it instead of me thinking clearly and rationally.

[Wai]

If they're declining your help, then good riddance. It's not like they're the only website that you can offer your help to.

[aussieJJDude]

There's a lot of groups out there, and each group has their own guidelines. I personally think that guidelines can be useful as a new crabber, but can be seriously limiting for crabbers that have had success through 'questionable' or 'different' methods. I wouldnt worry too much, a quick pm explaining preference and that there is no successful way in crabbing might be a good start, but meh... is there any point? beggers cant be choosers.

[emmac350]

Yeah, my issue was that they said they were "desperate" for adopters. You can't be desperate and turn down adopters who have made somewhat different but still okay choices for their crabs. If I was feeding pellets full of pesticides, or not dechlorinating my water that'd be one thing...

I finally emailed them and just said this:

I stopped using playsand years ago after doing research into the process to make it. I decided that it was the least safe option for substrate due to particle size, contamination, particle shape, and unknown inclusions. If I ever go back to using sand I'll go back to using an aragonite sand, with smooth/round grains. Playsand will never be in my tank.

I wish you luck finding adopters who meet with your standards.

The response basically said that one of their local reps "swore by" the type of sand I mentioned (aragonite) and then mentioned that they'd looked back through some of my old blogs and how I had some really good information out there. But apparently not good enough. Oh well!

[ladybug15057]

???? There are other substrates that can (and have been) used successfully! I gues CrabWorks would be denied too since she uses a moist gravel as her substrate?? Heck Kate lived for 35 years and last I heard Jon was still alive?
And with all the research I did on play sand, I would never use it again. Play Sand here in the U.S. is not actually sand at all anyway.

[Dukkie]

Thank you for posting this. I don't feel so bad for not even getting a response from our application to be an adopter. We just got our first hermit crab as a surprise gift to our DD from one of her friends. We are looking for 1 PP to live with Baba. If things go well, we might get a third... ...maybe, and depending on what we learn about PPs. If they really need homes for them, then we would love to open our home to have another precious life in it.

[ladybug15057]

I'm considering writing this up, including sources and images of the sand grains to compare and contacting them, but it feels a bit...petty?

I did this let's see, about 15 years ago? I did it with pictures as well as documentation to back it up. I did it and it was added to CSJ but not sure if it is still in my original article? (many things since the CSJ has moved been rewritten) But the information is out there!

[emmac350]

I did this let's see, about 15 years ago? I did it with pictures as well as documentation to back it up. I did it and it was added to CSJ but not sure if it is still in my original article? (many things since the CSJ has moved been rewritten) But the information is out there!

Yeah, I remember seeing your post on the CSJ about it and did some additional research beyond that. I don't care quite as much about this now, though it does help me understand how few and far between their announcements congratulating new approved adopters are.