Post by ColoCrabber on Jun 11, 2013 0:27:27 GMT -5
We have a very, very uncomfortable purple-claw who may or may not be dead. The main template information is quoted, and the problem is below.
DESCRIBE THE PROBLEM & ANY OTHER INFO YOU THINK APPLIES:
~~For about a month, Trouble was becoming more and more lethargic. He would frequently stay in the same place in the tank (usually near the water bowl) and not move for several days, then he would move a few inches, then a few more (or lots, and was just good at covering his tracks). He grew paler and paler so we suspected he wanted to molt, but every time we ISO'd him he would militantly not bury himself; frequently he would go to the food bowl (filled with calcium sand and cuttlefish bits) and sulk. He grew paler and paler until he turned almost white. Then, last Friday, we came home to find that Trouble's shell had been stolen by Jacques and Trouble was huddling under the barnacle (where he had been for the past three or so days). We saw him still moving and shifting around (especially when he noticed us noticing him), so we knew he was alive. We figured that maybe he didn't appreciate the drier, shallower tank (we had chosen the environment based upon several recommendations from other crabbing cites, not wanting to have our molters dug up, but Trouble's behavior had started to change our minds), so we moved Tim into the small ISO tank (where he promptly buried himself, much to our dismay), put Trouble in the larger ISO tank and covered it with a towel, and took Jacques out to play (he didn't come out of his shell more than twice) while I cleaned and re-made the main tank.
When I moved Trouble, he was very, VERY reluctant to be moved. He shied away from the piece of paper I was attempting to scoop him onto, but his movements were very sluggish. During his time in the ISO tank, Trouble didn't move on his own (although he did respond to stimulus). The one exception to Trouble's stationary behavior was when he lifted one of his back legs straight up, put it back down, and repeated (it was odd to say the least). When I again tried to scoop him into a piece of paper to move him to the main tank, he shied away again.
Once Trouble was in the main tank again I covered him (and several shells) up with a cup to try to either give him some privacy or coax him into a fresh shell (I went out and purchased a larger turbo shell of a similar shape to his old shell). We also put Jacques back into the main tank; he hung out for a few hour, climbed on the plants, then buried himself (which is bizarre; he JUST successfully molted not three weeks ago, and he waited four months after we got him before molting). Trouble did not dig nor change into a shell; he instead sat himself on top of the new turbo (which was opening-up) and did not move except to twitch when the cup was lifted away.
After a day or two of Trouble just...sitting there, I thought that since his rump was in the hole of the shell but not far enough to count as actually "in the shell" it might perhaps be much hotter under the cup than the it was in the rest of the tank. I put a light plastic dish over Jacque's burrow and replaced the cup with the coconut hut, thinking that Trouble would have access to food and water this way (if he wanted it) while still being safe from Jacques (whom I planned on putting in the other ISO when he re-surfaced). This did not go as planned.
When we awoke this morning, Jacques had somehow managed to surface, get out from under the dish, shed his shell, get back under the dish, and bury himself - but he didn't bother closing up the entrance to his burrow this time. Jacques also did not take a new shell with him when he re-buried himself.
Trouble also moved; he moved to the far corner of the coconut hut. This time, however, he did not respond when the hut was lifted (to check on him) and he did not move when nudged gently. He likewise did not respond this evening when we returned.
As far as we can tell, there is no fishy odor in the tank. We do not, however, know anything else. The Internet seems to be filled with conflicting information regarding surface molts and how to tell aside from dead-fish reek. We also cannot, it seems, protect Trouble from Jacques - who is himself possibly extremely stressed, as he now as no shell as far as we can tell.
Tim is also a worry; the ISO he chose to bury himself in had not had the sand re-moistened recently, and we have no control over the climate save for daily hand-misting.
Any help that can be offered is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much for your time.
HOW MANY CRABS DO YOU HAVE,WHAT SIZES ARE THEY & HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD THEM?
~~Three crabs: an EE and two purple-claws. The EE is the size of a medium-large grape (Jacques), the smaller purple-claw is the size of a large blueberry (Tim), and the larger purple-claw (who is having the issue) is the size of a large grape (Trouble). All three have been with us for roughly six months, give or take.
WHAT SPECIES OF CRABS DO YOU HAVE?
~~An EE and two purple-claws (outlined above)
TANK # AND SIZE(S)):
~~Three tanks
Main tank: Standard glass aquarium, 10gal (? 20"x12"x10", roughly)
ISO tank: Medium plastic critter carrier (UNUSED)
ISO tank: Small plastic critter carrier (Accidentally occupied by Tim)
We are fading the two ISOs out of non-emergency use as we cannot control the humidity or heat with any amount of precision. They used to be used as molting tanks, but the practice has been discontinued (with the exception of Tim, who buried himself while we were prepping the main tank to be molt-friendly)
LID TYPE:
~~All three are mostly covered with saran wrap. The two critter carriers have the standard steepled plastic lids, and the main tank has the standard wire mesh lid
SUBSTRATE USED:
~~Playsand and eco-earth in roughly 5-1 ratio in the main tank and unadulterated playsand in the ISOs
SUBSTRATE DEPTH:
~~Roughly 3-6" in the ISOs and 3.5" in the main tank. Up until four days ago the substrate was only about .5" high in the main tank to discourage non-ISO'd molting; the practice has since been discontinued
HUMIDITY SOURCE:
~~The ISOs are misted by hand and the main tank has a humidifier
HEAT SOURCE:
~~The ISOs have no heat source. The main tank is heated by two heating pads attached to the sides of the tank and connected to a heat monitor
WHAT IS YOUR TEMP/HUMIDITY ON AVERAGE?
~~The main tank averages around 80F day and night, and the humidity has recently been slowly moving from around 95% to 85% over the past four days (prior to that the humidity averaged around 70%-80% day and night)
HOW DO YOU TREAT YOUR WATER?
~~It is purchased either distilled or from the filtration machines at the local King Soopers
HOW DO YOU MAKE YOUR SALT WATER?
~~Salt water was introduced about a week ago; it is made from Instant Ocean by the gallon
WHAT DO YOU FEED YOUR CRABS?
~~We feed the crabs a variety of dry foods from The Crabbage Patch. Prior to the introduction of salt water we also had calcium sand in the dish
WHAT TYPES OF HIDES/CLIMBS DO YOU HAVE?
~~The main tank has a coconut hut, a large branch of coral, a large barnacle, and two plastic aquarium plants attached to the walls with suction cups
DO YOU HAVE AN ISOLATION TANK?
~~Yes; see above
HOW MANY EXTRA SHELLS AND WHAT SIZES DO YOU HAVE?
~~The crabs have several extra shells, ranging in size from very small to large; all are natural shells. Most are purchased from the local PetSmart. We try to change the shells out periodically to keep the tank from getting too cluttered, but there are generally no fewer than five extra shells ranging from small to too large for Trouble (the largest)
~~Three crabs: an EE and two purple-claws. The EE is the size of a medium-large grape (Jacques), the smaller purple-claw is the size of a large blueberry (Tim), and the larger purple-claw (who is having the issue) is the size of a large grape (Trouble). All three have been with us for roughly six months, give or take.
WHAT SPECIES OF CRABS DO YOU HAVE?
~~An EE and two purple-claws (outlined above)
TANK # AND SIZE(S)):
~~Three tanks
Main tank: Standard glass aquarium, 10gal (? 20"x12"x10", roughly)
ISO tank: Medium plastic critter carrier (UNUSED)
ISO tank: Small plastic critter carrier (Accidentally occupied by Tim)
We are fading the two ISOs out of non-emergency use as we cannot control the humidity or heat with any amount of precision. They used to be used as molting tanks, but the practice has been discontinued (with the exception of Tim, who buried himself while we were prepping the main tank to be molt-friendly)
LID TYPE:
~~All three are mostly covered with saran wrap. The two critter carriers have the standard steepled plastic lids, and the main tank has the standard wire mesh lid
SUBSTRATE USED:
~~Playsand and eco-earth in roughly 5-1 ratio in the main tank and unadulterated playsand in the ISOs
SUBSTRATE DEPTH:
~~Roughly 3-6" in the ISOs and 3.5" in the main tank. Up until four days ago the substrate was only about .5" high in the main tank to discourage non-ISO'd molting; the practice has since been discontinued
HUMIDITY SOURCE:
~~The ISOs are misted by hand and the main tank has a humidifier
HEAT SOURCE:
~~The ISOs have no heat source. The main tank is heated by two heating pads attached to the sides of the tank and connected to a heat monitor
WHAT IS YOUR TEMP/HUMIDITY ON AVERAGE?
~~The main tank averages around 80F day and night, and the humidity has recently been slowly moving from around 95% to 85% over the past four days (prior to that the humidity averaged around 70%-80% day and night)
HOW DO YOU TREAT YOUR WATER?
~~It is purchased either distilled or from the filtration machines at the local King Soopers
HOW DO YOU MAKE YOUR SALT WATER?
~~Salt water was introduced about a week ago; it is made from Instant Ocean by the gallon
WHAT DO YOU FEED YOUR CRABS?
~~We feed the crabs a variety of dry foods from The Crabbage Patch. Prior to the introduction of salt water we also had calcium sand in the dish
WHAT TYPES OF HIDES/CLIMBS DO YOU HAVE?
~~The main tank has a coconut hut, a large branch of coral, a large barnacle, and two plastic aquarium plants attached to the walls with suction cups
DO YOU HAVE AN ISOLATION TANK?
~~Yes; see above
HOW MANY EXTRA SHELLS AND WHAT SIZES DO YOU HAVE?
~~The crabs have several extra shells, ranging in size from very small to large; all are natural shells. Most are purchased from the local PetSmart. We try to change the shells out periodically to keep the tank from getting too cluttered, but there are generally no fewer than five extra shells ranging from small to too large for Trouble (the largest)
DESCRIBE THE PROBLEM & ANY OTHER INFO YOU THINK APPLIES:
~~For about a month, Trouble was becoming more and more lethargic. He would frequently stay in the same place in the tank (usually near the water bowl) and not move for several days, then he would move a few inches, then a few more (or lots, and was just good at covering his tracks). He grew paler and paler so we suspected he wanted to molt, but every time we ISO'd him he would militantly not bury himself; frequently he would go to the food bowl (filled with calcium sand and cuttlefish bits) and sulk. He grew paler and paler until he turned almost white. Then, last Friday, we came home to find that Trouble's shell had been stolen by Jacques and Trouble was huddling under the barnacle (where he had been for the past three or so days). We saw him still moving and shifting around (especially when he noticed us noticing him), so we knew he was alive. We figured that maybe he didn't appreciate the drier, shallower tank (we had chosen the environment based upon several recommendations from other crabbing cites, not wanting to have our molters dug up, but Trouble's behavior had started to change our minds), so we moved Tim into the small ISO tank (where he promptly buried himself, much to our dismay), put Trouble in the larger ISO tank and covered it with a towel, and took Jacques out to play (he didn't come out of his shell more than twice) while I cleaned and re-made the main tank.
When I moved Trouble, he was very, VERY reluctant to be moved. He shied away from the piece of paper I was attempting to scoop him onto, but his movements were very sluggish. During his time in the ISO tank, Trouble didn't move on his own (although he did respond to stimulus). The one exception to Trouble's stationary behavior was when he lifted one of his back legs straight up, put it back down, and repeated (it was odd to say the least). When I again tried to scoop him into a piece of paper to move him to the main tank, he shied away again.
Once Trouble was in the main tank again I covered him (and several shells) up with a cup to try to either give him some privacy or coax him into a fresh shell (I went out and purchased a larger turbo shell of a similar shape to his old shell). We also put Jacques back into the main tank; he hung out for a few hour, climbed on the plants, then buried himself (which is bizarre; he JUST successfully molted not three weeks ago, and he waited four months after we got him before molting). Trouble did not dig nor change into a shell; he instead sat himself on top of the new turbo (which was opening-up) and did not move except to twitch when the cup was lifted away.
After a day or two of Trouble just...sitting there, I thought that since his rump was in the hole of the shell but not far enough to count as actually "in the shell" it might perhaps be much hotter under the cup than the it was in the rest of the tank. I put a light plastic dish over Jacque's burrow and replaced the cup with the coconut hut, thinking that Trouble would have access to food and water this way (if he wanted it) while still being safe from Jacques (whom I planned on putting in the other ISO when he re-surfaced). This did not go as planned.
When we awoke this morning, Jacques had somehow managed to surface, get out from under the dish, shed his shell, get back under the dish, and bury himself - but he didn't bother closing up the entrance to his burrow this time. Jacques also did not take a new shell with him when he re-buried himself.
Trouble also moved; he moved to the far corner of the coconut hut. This time, however, he did not respond when the hut was lifted (to check on him) and he did not move when nudged gently. He likewise did not respond this evening when we returned.
As far as we can tell, there is no fishy odor in the tank. We do not, however, know anything else. The Internet seems to be filled with conflicting information regarding surface molts and how to tell aside from dead-fish reek. We also cannot, it seems, protect Trouble from Jacques - who is himself possibly extremely stressed, as he now as no shell as far as we can tell.
Tim is also a worry; the ISO he chose to bury himself in had not had the sand re-moistened recently, and we have no control over the climate save for daily hand-misting.
Any help that can be offered is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much for your time.