Supercrab's Crabalot

Here is my newest and smallest crab Periwinkle. Just to get an idea how small she is look at the dimples in the paper towel. With a 150 gallon tank you could understand why I have to keep a close eye on this little one...the last time I took up a medium sized shell to wash it she was tucked inside shell and all.



Maybe this will put things in prospective ...I have small hands too.

So I went off to a new Petco to get a smallish Straw which I was looking for since all the small ones at my Petco were sold off when I finally got my bigger tank up and running. I got there and ended up getting a Ruggie, my first Cavipe, the smallish Straw and a bigger Straw.
Got home and bathed them 2 x in diluted salt water, checked for bugs, and after seeing none on them or in the water I then added them to my crabitat by putting them in the salt water bath. Unfortunately I noticed a bug on my Ruggies leg while viewing my pictures. The picture was taken before I gave the second bath, so I am hoping he is bug free. I am not sure though and therefore I am prepared to buy predator bugs if need be. I called the Petco and spoke to the manager he was very nice and understanding and said I might be reimbursed if I were to have a bug breakout. Well enough of that, let us look at the nice part of all this...here are the crabs.

Here is Marigold my first Cavipe. She was in the same cage as the Ruggie with the bug but I have not seen anything on her. All claws crossed.

Here is Shaggy my smallish Straw.
Shaggy got his/her name from my 6 year old daughter.

This is Robin, he is a good size, but still a bit smaller than Clifford or Big Ben.

Here is the Ruggie that had the bug on him ( see my post in emergency forum of the HCA) this picture was taken after the second bath and I see no bug so either it is in his shell or gone...I hope for the latter. Well after a sleepless night and bug research etc. I have decided that no matter the outcome we shall always know him as Buggie. So here is Buggie the Ruggie.

Here is a quick pic of Clifford sporting his (really a her) new attire

Well the big move is over and the tank is all done. Below are some pictures. Please ignore the gauges in the tank as the pictures were taken right after set-up and the conditions had not yet returned to set point. Although I must admit that in a tank this big there will be slight differences in temp and humidity depending were a crab is. If the crab is basking under the bulbs the humidity will be less than if the crab was under the second levels. But all in all the average is at set point and they do not seem to care because I have seen them hanging out in every corner. I also am introducing two new crabs, another ruggie named Buttercup and my first Indo named Indigo (a big fella). I am currently up to 26 crabs. When I first put them in this tank they were all very active and scooting around. 3 of my 4 freshly molted crabs dug down again right away. Now almost everyone is in hiding, I guess in the weeks to come the tank will get more active again.


Pic #1 Front view. There are also hiding spots under the levels close to the far corners which you might not see. I have several gauges in the tank and one sensor with digital read on top of the tank. The white PVC houses all the bubbler tubes and the temp. sensors.
P1c #2 View from right side 2nd level I hung netting across the front of these levels so they will not just fall off the edge.
Pic #3 View from front right
I have left some shells of various sizes on the lower levels. I currently have one UTH under a small area of sand. I have one on the side of the tank by the EE. The sand and EE gets cooler as they dig down except in these spots.
Pic #4 Close-up of left side with 2nd level "used shell lot" (smaller shells) & 3rd level basking area. The basking area is the warmest currently at 85F with only 75% humidity. The lower levels currently are 81F with 81% humidity. I am going to up humidity soon by adding another DIY humidifier directly in the tank, until then I just mist regularly. I will raise the temp about 2- 3F but if the 3rd level gets too hot I might be forced to move it.
Pic #5 Close up of middle with Bathing pools and beach area. I bought small paint trays at Walmart and siliconed small stones all over so all crabs have easy access. Both pools have bubbles with airstones and are deep enough for all the crabs to fully submerge.
Pic #6 Close up of right side with 2nd level "Crabbies bar and grill" with larger shells. Under this are several hiding spots.


Pic #7 Indigo, my first Indo taking a bath in the saltwater. He is in the shallow end now but after this shot he went for the deep. He ate food and then dug down to destress. He seems a bit shy but we will see how he is when he comes up. I have heard that Indos can be a bit aggressive so I will be keeping a close eye on him.
Pic #8 Buttercup my 3rd Ruggie stuffing his face after his first bath. He has since dug down to destress.

I always bath my newcomers in dichlorinated water and then place them in the food dish in the crabatat. I iso only if I do not trust sellers crabatat.