The new crabitat

I had been looking around for a used tank that would replace my 5 gallon one. My new found addiction would quickly outgrow the current tank and my crabs would suffer. So in order to satiate my addiction, I had to go shopping. I tell ya, these crabs ain't cheap.

So I asked my sister in law at the pet store about them getting in used ones. She said they did, and she'd let me know if one showed up. I posted on freecycle, with no response. We were also on the lookout for a dining room table, so one Sat. morning, I was online checking out the garage sales intown, and one of them had listed a big aquarium! It had just started 15 minutes prior, so I chucked the boys in the van, still in their jammies to run and grab it. And it was still there! It had been a rat cage, and had a couple of rat things with it, so I asked if I could just buy the tank and bargained the price down to 20 bucks. It has a screen lid and clips to go with it. It was listed in the paper as 1 foot wide and 3 feet long. Not sure how tall....I think its over a foot tall. So do the math and tell me how big it is. LOL I am thinking 30 gallon?? Not sure.

Anyways, a few days later Kainen and I scrubbed it out with vinegar. The next day I brought it in to start filling with play sand. I put 50 pounds in that sucker. Oye. Glad I put it up on its final resting place first. That same day BOTH my shell orders came in. Weee! Christmas was early. Then I opened the first package. Oye. The shell sizes were listed, rather than the opening sizes like I had thought. So I had ordered some teeeeeeny shells. There were just a few in that order that I could use. I thought I had ordered shells that had .5 - .75 inch openings....but nope. The shells them selves are as small as .5 inches. But the bubbler dish was in that package so not all was lost. LOL

The second package had a few more shells that were good as well. I also got a climbing net in that order.

I had gone the day before and picked up a shell package from Walmart and got 3 good shells out of there, plus feeding dishes! There was a shell in there that Mrs. Hermit climed right into. I grabbed her old shell and cleaned it and put it back in, and sure enough, she climbed right back in there. Ah well. I am glad I got to clean it anyways.



Here is Mrs. Hermit and the shell she changed into.



I put the eco earth in one side of the crabitat soaked in salt water to combat mold. Also got the playsand good and wet so they could tunnel.

I added the bubbler pool filled with salt water, and a water dish with fresh water. Some blue glass stones here and there. Took a ziplock storage container and cut it up and turned it upside down for a little hiding spot for them. Plopped in the crabs and away they went! It was great fun watching them explore. Mr. Krabs changed shells pretty fast. I got to watch that. By morning though, he ended up in the shell that Mrs. Hermit had originally changed into , and is still in there. Krabby Patty flirted with the only shell I figured he would . It is a large unpolished turbo. Its pretty cool looking. But in the end, he sauntered off after rolling down the hill with it. Stinker. But two mornings ago, I woke up to find him in there. He hasn't moved much since then. It is a lot heavier than his other shell, but perhaps he just needs to adjust. He ate the peice of popcorn that was in the food dish, so I know he's getting around. Mr.Krabs and Mrs. Hermit have buried themselves. I can hear someone moving around in there. Not sure who. Krabby Patty is parked under the upside down ziplock thing. He brought in the turbo that Mr. Krabs switched into, but is staying put in the larger one. It fits him a lot better anyways, and its neat looking. Will snap a pic and post it later on.

So for now, I just need to finish decorating in there. Its fairly plain, so I don't want to post a pic. But I will post a before and after once its more decorated.