We planted a Bromeliad in the Crabitat because I was reading that CO2 levels could build up at the bottom, and I wanted a live plant. We will see if the crabs climb or eat the plant. I expect it'll get a lot more wear and tear when the Ecuadorians are introduced to their new home (when they come up).
We also fixed my mother a Crabitat for her 2 medium/largeish crabs. She went from a 5 gallon tank to a 50 gallon tank. It's funny how much littler her crabs look in the huge tank. There's about 7" of sand/EcoEarth substrate at the deep end and it sloped down to the water. We planted two bromeliads in her tank along with some aquarium plants and there are a couple hides (a reptile basking rock cave and a bridge, not to mention all the plants). The top is a mesh screen, thus the towel over the top to help with humidity for now. Better plans for covering the top are in the works.
Someone contacted me to tell me that my Crabitat isn't suitable for crabs. I don't know whether they were responding to my critter keeper, the 5.5 gallon or current Crabitat. There was no information other than I was killing them because my substrate and humidity was wrong. (How is this helpful if I don't know what's wrong with it?)
ReplyDeletePlease rest assured, I have a calibrated humidity and temperature gauge and make sure both stay around 80. Usually temperature is 78-80 and humidity 80-85. My substrate is sand mixed with coconut fiber. I have a minimum of 6" of sand. My crabs are very small barely 1" in diameter in their shells or 5/8-3/4" openings on their shells.
I used the Hermit Crab Association care sheets and the Hermit Crab Patch as my source for setting up a healthy environment for the crabs.
I'm not an expert and I'm learning. I did lose 2 of my crabs at the beginning (stress or my mistake). I don't mind advice or suggestions for improvement as long as it is that not just "you're doing it wrong" with no other information. Please also point me to the reference for improvement suggestions.