crabs are dead!

prestage3ek · 01/04/2007, 07:35 PM

so within the last 24 hours I have found 6 crabs from my cleaner crew dead. everything in the tank checks out fine, ammonia levels and everything else looks good, I supplement a small square of algae every 2 days or so, I have also seen them eating the food that I use to feed my fish, the blue Formula One container. What could be happening? too many crabs? are they killing eachother or is it something else?

scrmbld33 · 01/04/2007, 07:58 PM

are their any other inhabitants ie fish etc? did you acclimate them? it is possible for hermits to kill eachother, usually for the shells, so having spare shells for them to move into would be good, also they ll attack your snails to steal their shells too

Wrench · 01/04/2007, 08:21 PM

Could they possibly be the old exoskeletons leftover after they've molted? I was finding what looked like dead crabs every day but the poplulation never dropped. Then I caught one molting one night. He would come out of the shell, molt his exoskeleton then get back in the shell.

alizarin · 01/04/2007, 08:37 PM

If you're sure they're dead and it's not just their shells after molting...

Then could you tell us
1) Is this a new tank? How often do you do water changes?
2) How long has the cleanupcrew been in the tank?
3) What kind of crabs?
4) What other invertebrates do you have?

prestage3ek · 01/04/2007, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by alizarin
If you're sure they're dead and it's not just their shells after molting...

Then could you tell us
1) Is this a new tank? How often do you do water changes?
2) How long has the cleanupcrew been in the tank?
3) What kind of crabs?
4) What other invertebrates do you have?

the tank is fairly new, about a month now, I havent done a water change because I had a ammonia spike and then everything leveled off, all I have done is add more water because the level drops a inch or so every couple days and my skimmer needs constant adjusting when that happens.

my cleanup crew has been in the tank for about 2 1/2 weeks now

crabs are from a cleaner crew from drs f&s, red reef hermits, blue leg hermits and scarlet hermits. I also have 6 trochous snails and an abalone.

only thing else I have in the tank are 2 clowns and a dottyback.

prestage3ek · 01/04/2007, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by scrmbld33
are their any other inhabitants ie fish etc? did you acclimate them? it is possible for hermits to kill eachother, usually for the shells, so having spare shells for them to move into would be good, also they ll attack your snails to steal their shells too

a couple of them have already changed shells that were in the sand I had, some of them are now in white shells cause I have carribean reef sand.

bertoni · 01/04/2007, 10:11 PM

You're probably seeing molts, not dead crabs. I got fooled frequently by molts. You could post all the water parameters, if you're worried. I assume you're topping off with RO-DI water, not saltwater?

The sand also might not have enough appropriate spare shells.

danch · 01/05/2007, 08:03 AM

Could there be too many crabs for the available food? The packaged cleaner crews are frequently way more critters than experts recommend.

FullPull · 01/05/2007, 08:17 AM

I agree with bertoni, your probably seeing molts. They are very deceiving. Are you finding what appears to be the legs with their deep color and more hanging off of them? That's what I found, I thought for sure they were dead untill I did a head count.

prestage3ek · 01/05/2007, 09:37 AM

what im finding is the legs and then some fleshy stuff attached to it, it has eyes and stuff too.

dcombs44 · 01/05/2007, 09:40 AM

Sounds like a hermit molt to me!

amike5 · 01/05/2007, 09:59 AM

They just molted, no worries! Molts are very deceiving, count up your crew to verify. GL

HBtank · 01/05/2007, 11:24 AM

Fools everyone.

Ive had many roomates etc... come to inform me that my big ol' hermit was dead (my favorite critter) because they had never really seen a molt before.

rick s · 01/05/2007, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by prestage3ek
My Crabs are dead!

CONGRATULATIONS!

OOOps. Wrong forum.

Sorry. I couldn't resist.

SgJsg35 · 01/05/2007, 06:58 PM

I used to work at petco, had a ton of freshwater ex. but very little salt,used to write up crabs and shrimp as dead when it was only the exoskeleton,they can fool you.

01/04/2007, 07:35 PM	#1
prestage3ek Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: God's waiting room, FL Posts: 232	crabs are dead! so within the last 24 hours I have found 6 crabs from my cleaner crew dead. everything in the tank checks out fine, ammonia levels and everything else looks good, I supplement a small square of algae every 2 days or so, I have also seen them eating the food that I use to feed my fish, the blue Formula One container. What could be happening? too many crabs? are they killing eachother or is it something else?

01/04/2007, 07:58 PM	#2
scrmbld33 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: south jersey 08050 Posts: 2,394	are their any other inhabitants ie fish etc? did you acclimate them? it is possible for hermits to kill eachother, usually for the shells, so having spare shells for them to move into would be good, also they ll attack your snails to steal their shells too __________________ a left over shrimp shedding is not "a sicilian message meaning luca brasi sleeps with the fishes" fish are friends, not food Current Tank Info: 90gal salt, 2 250mh 14k hamiltons 2 110 actinic, 127lbs LR,50lbs tonga 70lbs indonesia 7lbs tonga branch asm g3

01/04/2007, 10:11 PM	#7
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	You're probably seeing molts, not dead crabs. I got fooled frequently by molts. You could post all the water parameters, if you're worried. I assume you're topping off with RO-DI water, not saltwater? The sand also might not have enough appropriate spare shells. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

01/05/2007, 08:03 AM	#8
danch Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Milwaukee, WI Posts: 614	Could there be too many crabs for the available food? The packaged cleaner crews are frequently way more critters than experts recommend. __________________ Asking dumb questions since '06! Or, a dumby asking questions since '06! Current Tank Info: 29G FW, 75G LPSing

01/05/2007, 08:17 AM	#9
FullPull Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Hawthorn PA Posts: 216	I agree with bertoni, your probably seeing molts. They are very deceiving. Are you finding what appears to be the legs with their deep color and more hanging off of them? That's what I found, I thought for sure they were dead untill I did a head count. __________________ If Duct Tape wasn't meant to fix everything...Why can you get in so many @%#$@ colors !!!! Current Tank Info: 55 gl, 20 gl sump, GU10 Led, Reef Keeper lite, Modded CSS 125 Skimmer, Phosban Reactor, Mag 7 Return Pump, DIY Refugium

01/04/2007, 08:21 PM	#3
Wrench Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Maryland Posts: 2,004	Could they possibly be the old exoskeletons leftover after they've molted? I was finding what looked like dead crabs every day but the poplulation never dropped. Then I caught one molting one night. He would come out of the shell, molt his exoskeleton then get back in the shell.

01/04/2007, 08:37 PM	#4
alizarin Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 869	If you're sure they're dead and it's not just their shells after molting... Then could you tell us 1) Is this a new tank? How often do you do water changes? 2) How long has the cleanupcrew been in the tank? 3) What kind of crabs? 4) What other invertebrates do you have?

01/05/2007, 09:37 AM	#10
prestage3ek Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: God's waiting room, FL Posts: 232	what im finding is the legs and then some fleshy stuff attached to it, it has eyes and stuff too.

01/05/2007, 09:40 AM	#11
dcombs44 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 2,913	Sounds like a hermit molt to me! __________________ Current Setup: 10 Gallon Skimmerless Zoanthid Tank Lighting: Single 175 Watt Metal Halide (14,000 K Hamilton Lamp) Filtration: 10 gallon sump/refugium and Phosban Reactor Return: Mag Drive 700 Controller: ReefKeeper Lite (Basic Version) Circulation: TBD Age of System: Build is in Progress

01/05/2007, 09:59 AM	#12
amike5 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Englewood, CO Posts: 724	They just molted, no worries! Molts are very deceiving, count up your crew to verify. GL

01/05/2007, 11:24 AM	#13
HBtank Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Huntington Beach, CA Posts: 2,957	Fools everyone. Ive had many roomates etc... come to inform me that my big ol' hermit was dead (my favorite critter) because they had never really seen a molt before. __________________ 80g Aiptasia dominated reef tank.. with fish and now a bunch of berghia! Current Tank Info: 80g tank, re-starting a reef after a zoanthid nudibranch plauge, followed by months of steady and unstoppable STN/RTN, crashed; stayed FOWLR for a couple years, currently an aiptasia dominated reef tank with fishies and BERGHIA

01/05/2007, 06:58 PM	#15
SgJsg35 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Steeler Country Posts: 218	I used to work at petco, had a ton of freshwater ex. but very little salt,used to write up crabs and shrimp as dead when it was only the exoskeleton,they can fool you. __________________ hadooun haqil khairun min sadiqin jaahil Current Tank Info: 50 gal.(50-60lbs LR) Eibl's Angelfish,Sixline Wrasse,Lunare Wrasse,Orchid Dottyback,Blacktail Dascyllus,Neon Goby,Banded Coral Shrimp,Emerald Crab,a few Snails & Hermits