red hermit crabs not moving much

[Meg]

Hi,

I'm a newbie at this. I have a biube 9 gallon tank that's been cycling with live rock for 5 weeks (I was away on vaca) and then I introduced some "clean -up crew" (after having the water tested) - 2 trochus snails, 2 red hermit crabs and 1 emerald crab last week. I acclimated them according to the fish store - float and drip technique - about a 20 min process. They all seemed to have done fine except I'm wondering about the hermit crabs. The larger hermit crab initially was very active, walking around everywhere - basically exploring; the other pretty much stayed still. The next day, however, I would barely see the larger one moving. The smaller one moved around his initial area for 3 days, before it began to venture elsewhere. Now, they both move around. I find them in different locations at different points of the day but I rarely SEE them move around like the first day. Is this normal behaviour? or are they getting sick? and how do I know if they have enough food?

I just started feeding them pellets as of yesterday but I don't see anyone going for them. The pellets are so tiny - how would I even know they ate them? According to my biube instructions, I'm only suppose to give 2 of these tiny pellets per day. Is that enough?

I'd be grateful for any help.

Thanks.

 

[Bifferwine]

Inverts are more sensitive than fish and really need a much longer acclimation time -- at least 2 hours.

But if you are seeing them in different spots throughout the day, they are moving. I wouldn't worry about it for now. But I would worry if you start seeing them on their backs or if they disappear altogether.

About food, do you have any algae in your tank? It's unlikely that they will starve, as they are scavengers and are really hardy. A couple pellets a day is probably even overfeeding them, so watch your water quality (are you still testing for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates? Adding food to the tank may cause it to re-cycle).

I'd recommend adding some nassarius snails to take care of the sand and some astraea snails to take care of the glass. Not necessarily right now, but sometime in the near future. And it's probably time to add your first fish :) Adding a fish will help the cleaner crew, it will give them something to clean up after.

 

[dcantucson]

Hi Meg, Biff's gotcha ya covered, so I just say welcome. :wave:

 

[AdeptMrSniffles]

Hi Meg! Welcome to the hobby/addiction!

Looks like your doin well. My only concern is your sand bed. Did you purchase Sand or Crushed Coral? If you have crushed coral I'd remove it and replace it with some Argonite Sand. The sand is easier to keep stirred by the snails.

 

[Meg]

Thanks for you help, Biff. If you say 2 pellets a day is enough/over feeding than I made the mistake of putting 4 in yesterday. It just seemed so little. I'm going to do some maintenance tomorrow - change 25% of the water, filter change etc.. and will get the water tested this weekend again. Do you think I did some bad damage yesterday by adding the 4 pellets?

As for the hermit crabs, although I do see them at different locations, each time it seems that they stay still for longer period of times. I'm a little worried about them but hopefully they're ok.

BTW - I have a rocky bottom - not sand. It came with the Biube and was recommended for it.

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. I'm happy to join the hobby/addiction.

 

[dcantucson]

Meg I would recommend getting rid of the rock on the bottom and going with live sand. If the pellets you're feeding your hermits falls down into the rock the hermits won't be able to get to the food always. The rocks will trap a lot of crap and lead to poor water quality.

 

[Bifferwine]

The rocky bottom isn't great for your tank, animals that live on and in the substrate need sand, not a rocky bottom, and like David said, it tends to trap waste and lead to poor water quality. I know it's a pain in the butt, but it would be easier to switch over to sand now rather than later when you have a tank full of animals.

If your crabs are still being sluggish, it may very well have been the short acclimation time. If they end up kicking the bucket, make sure you acclimate the next batch of inverts for a few hours, and use the drip method.

 

[Smitty]

Hello and welcome to the site...everyone has you covered.

 

[Meg]

I understand but I think the biube is made for the rocky bottom. I'm hoping to speak to a rep on Monday and get some info from them - such as why they recommend a rocky bottom. I think it's because of their filter but will need to get all the info first. Biube's are supposedly made to be "less work" in maintaining an aquarium. Will see.

Thanks for the feedback. The hermit crabs haven't moved all day. I'm getting the water tested again today (even though it was just tested last week).

 

[Meg]

ok - got back from the aquarium store and my water tested perfect. No problems - so I got a cleaner shrimp and a clown fish. After 2 hrs, I've acclimated them both to their new home. So far so good.

meantime - the hermit crabs have moved around oh so slightly.. I'll see where they are tomorrow.

thanks again for your feedback. I know I'll need more of it in the very near future...:D

 

[Ted]

you are probably just coming back to your tank right when they finish the lap they made in the tank. Or they see you coming and get back into place before you get there. :mrgreen:

 

[Bifferwine]

I have a Biocube. They are not "made" for any particular substrate. It has nothing to do with the filters or anything like that. Sand is just a much better substrate and a rocky bottom does no good in a saltwater tank.

 

[dcantucson]

I think the only time a rocky substrate is appropriate is MAYBE in a fresh water tank where you have an underground filter to pull everything down into the bottom.

 

[Meg]

that could be the reason - it has an underwater filter.

more importantly however, I just found one of my trochus snails upside down this morning. Trochus snails are able to right themselves. Can't understand what happened? water parameters were good yesterday. Both the cleaner shrimp and clownfish are doing well. I have one other trochus snail which seems fine right now. And both hermit crabs have moved positions and thus far, seem to be fine.

Any ideas what might have happened to the snail? I feel so bad.

 

[Bifferwine]

You should remove the undergravel filter. They are useless for saltwater tanks. Notice dcan said that the only time you'd have that is in a freshwater tank. Just pull it out, you're better off without it. They lead to poor water quality conditions and create a space for detritus and crap to get trapped that is impossible for you or your cleaner animals to get to to keep clean.

Biocubes are not sold with UGFs. Did you buy that separately?

 

[Meg]

no, I have a biube - not biocube. It's a biorb but cylinder shape instead. It's meant for a novice like me to be able to have a saltwater aquarium. It comes with everything - lighting, filter (undergravel), reef salt, etc... It's basically a how to kit. I'm to new with this to be messing around with other set-ups and go at it alone. I know you all know what you're talking about, I just like the idea of following directions rather than venturing out on my own. At least right now - until I get my feet wet :D

 

[Bifferwine]

Ahhhh I see! I misunderstood - I apologize. But still, undergravel filters should not be used in saltwater.

I looked at the Biube website. They are freshwater tanks. Notice every single picture is a freshwater setup? The lighting in the Biube will not be sufficient for a reef tank either. If I were you, I'd take the whole setup back. The lighting is wrong, and the filtration is wrong.

There are plenty all-in-one saltwater setups that are meant for saltwater and are great. The Red Sea Max is one, the Biocube is another. Those are probably the two most popular.

But it's your tank, it's up to you. I think you got majorly ripped off by your LFS if he sold you that setup for saltwater. You probably bought the Marine Conversion Kit to "transform" it to a saltwater setup? If so, try to get your money back. This won't work 99.9% of the time becaus it's just the wrong equipment. Read the FAQs on their own webpage:

10. Can I Keep Corals?
Corals generally require large specialist Very High Output lights and massive filtration to ensure their survival. Presently the biOrb and biUbe should be considered as ‘Fish Only’ marine aquariums. By not focusing on corals we believe this helps provide the ideal introduction to Marine fishkeeping. We do recommend customers buy some invertebrates like a “cleanup crew” as it helps create a balanced marine system.

 

[Bifferwine]

Another thing from their FAQ:

25. Should I use RO water?
Reverse Osmosis (RO) water is created using a specialist water purifying unit to produce. This water is purified tap water where approximately 98% of dissolved solids and organics have been removed. High quality RO water is required for Coral aquariums and can be used in the Reef One aquarium if your tap water has excessive levels of harmful chemicals. However, our system has been designed to work with regular tap water and this is fine to use.

I don't know how their system is "designed" to use tap water, but saltwater animals are not. Tap water is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when setting up a saltwater system. Especially if you are keeping inverts (like your cleaning crew).

 

[Meg]

Biff, I know you mean well but I've done my research and I bought the biube because it looked to require the least maintenance and had the all-in-one package that I thought would make it easy. Reef One says they've tested it and if you follow their set-up, it's perfectly safe for a FISH ONLY saltwater aquarium. I do not have corals. I've currently been following their step-by-step directions and keeping a watchful eye on it. They even tell you how much fish I should have, the fish food to use etc..

I've read over all their FAQ's - but I have more questions for them which I was hoping to get in touch with them on Monday or Tuesday (labor day weekend). They don't seem to have support on weekends.

That's the main reason I hesitate to venture on my own. According to them, if I follow their instructions/set-up, it should be simple maintenance, clear water and safe for the fish.

I hope it's true.

 

[dcantucson]

You can only try. I got one a while back (the round kind) about 5 gallons and was going to try dwarf Seahorses, but have not.
Good luck Meg!