Hermit crabs need both a freshwater and an ocean salt water pool to survive.
Crab pools are non-negotiable.
Use this to guide you in making crab pools with moving water.
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Freshwater
What You Need:
- Water conditioner
- 1-gallon jug
Use a treatment to remove chlorines, chloramines, and heavy metals from tap water.
I use the Tetra AquaSafe Plus water conditioner.
One gallon jug every two weeks fits my needs.
Saltwater
What You Need:
- Aquarium salt
- Two 1-gallon jugs
To make saltwater, I first make freshwater.
After letting that sit for a few minutes, I then add Instant ocean Sea Salt.
Two 2-gallon jugs every two weeks fit my needs.
The Crab Pools
What You Need:
- 2 Tupperware containers
- Craft Mesh
- Zip ties
- River rocks
It took considerable time to find the exact shape of Tupperware for the crab pools I wanted (there were many prototypes).
Cut the lid to leave 1/4 on one end for a splash guard.
Fasten the craft mesh like a bridge over the side of your pool with zip ties.
Add some river rocks for your crabs to walk on.
Clean Crab Pools Need an Air Pump
What You Need:
An air pump will serve to keep the water for longer (4-6 days with top offs) and creates increased humidity levels.
1. Locate a suitable area where the tubing can be fed out of your enclosure to the pump.
2. Setup the pump using the tubing, the line valve to control pressure, and the splitter to create two lines (one for salt one for fresh).
3. Cut a hole in the splash guards and feed your lines through.
4. Place air stones at the end of each line.
5. Test your pressure and the general placement of your pools and lines and modify where necessary.
Functional Accessories
Find every opportunity to add some fun and/or functional accessories to your crabitat. I added this ladder from HoboHermie on Etsy to make transferring between the pools more accessible.
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Additional support: Hermit Crab Keepers Checklist