Crab lost its claws after molting?

djryan2000 · 08/30/2019, 10:00 PM

I have a sally light foot that molted two days ago for the first time since I had it. Everything seemed good at first until last night I noticed it was missing a claw. Now tonight when I got home I saw it was missing it’s second claw - the crab has no claws. What happened?

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mndfreeze · 09/04/2019, 11:28 PM

It happens sometimes to inverts. It will regrow its claws on its next molt.

djryan2000 · 09/05/2019, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mndfreeze

It happens sometimes to inverts. It will regrow its claws on its next molt.

The crab ended up dying the day after I posted this. No clue what happened. Ammonia was near 0, nitrates at 5 ppm, nitrites at .25 ppm.. was it the nitrites?

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mndfreeze · 09/06/2019, 05:56 AM

Is this a new tank? Nitrites makes it sound like your cycle isn't done.

Also are you SURE it died? Molts can look deceptively like the real deal. I've though multiple inverts of mine over the years have died only to find them pop up a week later with a fresh shell.

What changed in your tank recently also? Did you just do a water change in the last few days, or are you slackin on them in general?

djryan2000 · 09/06/2019, 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mndfreeze

Is this a new tank? Nitrites makes it sound like your cycle isn't done.

Also are you SURE it died? Molts can look deceptively like the real deal. I've though multiple inverts of mine over the years have died only to find them pop up a week later with a fresh shell.

What changed in your tank recently also? Did you just do a water change in the last few days, or are you slackin on them in general?

The crab was definitely dead - all the legs fell off. The tank is about a month and a half old.. I never cycled it because when I set it up I was at Petco and didn’t know cycling was a thing. I changed 20% of the water the day after it molted.

mndfreeze · 09/06/2019, 09:57 PM

You are still cycling then and should not add anymore livestock. Most inverts and fish are very intolerant of unstable water. Nitrites are very poisonous to life in general, even in low amounts.. You need to get the point where you have no ammonia, no nitrite, and only nitrates, which are then taken out of the water when you do water changes and generally clean the tank.

Any livestock you have now is at risk and any you add has a high chance of dying. Also, additional food sources like feed for current livestock, or the waste products of the animals themselves you have now are basically causing more ammonia and more nitrites, but your bacteria levels are not high enough and balanced enough to break it down quickly.

Keep testing your water weekly, and if you have a decent saltwater store (probably not petco!) have them test your water too to make sure your results match theirs. When you get to zero ammonia, zero nitrates you can get a clean up crew if you don't already have one, then add a fish. You have to add things slowly to the tank or you will just overload the bacteria again and have a minicycle, which could crash your tank and kill sensitive animals again.

djryan2000 · 09/07/2019, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mndfreeze

You are still cycling then and should not add anymore livestock. Most inverts and fish are very intolerant of unstable water. Nitrites are very poisonous to life in general, even in low amounts.. You need to get the point where you have no ammonia, no nitrite, and only nitrates, which are then taken out of the water when you do water changes and generally clean the tank.

Any livestock you have now is at risk and any you add has a high chance of dying. Also, additional food sources like feed for current livestock, or the waste products of the animals themselves you have now are basically causing more ammonia and more nitrites, but your bacteria levels are not high enough and balanced enough to break it down quickly.

Keep testing your water weekly, and if you have a decent saltwater store (probably not petco!) have them test your water too to make sure your results match theirs. When you get to zero ammonia, zero nitrates you can get a clean up crew if you don't already have one, then add a fish. You have to add things slowly to the tank or you will just overload the bacteria again and have a minicycle, which could crash your tank and kill sensitive animals again.

Thank you! I do have another fish store near by and I’ve been buying salt water from them and just changing it out. I don’t think the nitrites were only the result of a cycle but also a decomposing plant my decorator crab had on him. I picked it off and have done a few water changes and the water is much better but I’m sure isn’t perfect yet.

Could you just expand on adding fish to a cycled tank for me? How much life can you add at once without overloading the bacteria? I’m going to be setting up a new tank soon - a 40 gal breeder instead of my 20 gal tall tank so I have more room for crabs and want to make sure I don’t add too much life at once.

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mndfreeze · 09/12/2019, 01:44 AM

There isn't really a hard fast rule for adding fish once your tank is cycled. Usually it's only one or two at time. You want to keep the bioload down until it balances back out again. For example, adding a 10 fish to a 40g will take some time for the fish urine and poop to build up, along with old fish food, and other die off, etc but it will happen faster than your bacterial load can process it.

Inverts are considered to be neglegible when it comes to bioload, but they are far more sensitive to water quality issues (mostly, some are pretty damn hardy, like hermits) and I wouldn't add a ton at once except your clean up crew in case things aren't quite balanced yet to avoid possible issues like you had with your crab.

The stages of a tank cycle actually last years as it matures. The initial cycle you have to get through to get safe water can take up to a few months. You don't want to rush it.

If you are going to setup a 40b and use your same rock out of your 20, you will be able to skip most of the cycle process again, perhaps even all. Just make sure you are up on your water changes at first.

If you go with new rock you will need to cycle the 40 from scratch.

djryan2000 · 09/18/2019, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mndfreeze

If you go with new rock you will need to cycle the 40 from scratch.

That’s my plan - I think my current tank will become my quarantine tank. Thank you for the advice!!

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08/30/2019, 10:00 PM	#1
djryan2000 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2019 Posts: 441	Crab lost its claws after molting? I have a sally light foot that molted two days ago for the first time since I had it. Everything seemed good at first until last night I noticed it was missing a claw. Now tonight when I got home I saw it was missing it’s second claw - the crab has no claws. What happened? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

09/04/2019, 11:28 PM	#2
mndfreeze Invert Sexy Time! Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Tempe, AZ Posts: 2,255	It happens sometimes to inverts. It will regrow its claws on its next molt.

09/06/2019, 05:56 AM	#4
mndfreeze Invert Sexy Time! Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Tempe, AZ Posts: 2,255	Is this a new tank? Nitrites makes it sound like your cycle isn't done. Also are you SURE it died? Molts can look deceptively like the real deal. I've though multiple inverts of mine over the years have died only to find them pop up a week later with a fresh shell. What changed in your tank recently also? Did you just do a water change in the last few days, or are you slackin on them in general?

09/06/2019, 09:57 PM	#6
mndfreeze Invert Sexy Time! Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Tempe, AZ Posts: 2,255	You are still cycling then and should not add anymore livestock. Most inverts and fish are very intolerant of unstable water. Nitrites are very poisonous to life in general, even in low amounts.. You need to get the point where you have no ammonia, no nitrite, and only nitrates, which are then taken out of the water when you do water changes and generally clean the tank. Any livestock you have now is at risk and any you add has a high chance of dying. Also, additional food sources like feed for current livestock, or the waste products of the animals themselves you have now are basically causing more ammonia and more nitrites, but your bacteria levels are not high enough and balanced enough to break it down quickly. Keep testing your water weekly, and if you have a decent saltwater store (probably not petco!) have them test your water too to make sure your results match theirs. When you get to zero ammonia, zero nitrates you can get a clean up crew if you don't already have one, then add a fish. You have to add things slowly to the tank or you will just overload the bacteria again and have a minicycle, which could crash your tank and kill sensitive animals again.

09/12/2019, 01:44 AM	#8
mndfreeze Invert Sexy Time! Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Tempe, AZ Posts: 2,255	There isn't really a hard fast rule for adding fish once your tank is cycled. Usually it's only one or two at time. You want to keep the bioload down until it balances back out again. For example, adding a 10 fish to a 40g will take some time for the fish urine and poop to build up, along with old fish food, and other die off, etc but it will happen faster than your bacterial load can process it. Inverts are considered to be neglegible when it comes to bioload, but they are far more sensitive to water quality issues (mostly, some are pretty damn hardy, like hermits) and I wouldn't add a ton at once except your clean up crew in case things aren't quite balanced yet to avoid possible issues like you had with your crab. The stages of a tank cycle actually last years as it matures. The initial cycle you have to get through to get safe water can take up to a few months. You don't want to rush it. If you are going to setup a 40b and use your same rock out of your 20, you will be able to skip most of the cycle process again, perhaps even all. Just make sure you are up on your water changes at first. If you go with new rock you will need to cycle the 40 from scratch.