Not sure what’s happing with my red claw crab and I’m freaking out.!!!

[Ashleytaylor]

I have a red claw crab and I’ve had her since December, shes moulted twice but since then she is beginning to go from a deep reddish to a now orange. It started off as a spot and since then it’s begun to take over most of her shell.

I’m freaking out thinking the worst as the last 2 times she moulted her colour only changed after.

Does anyone know what’s going on.??
Pictures are before and after

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

The water looks cloudy and this could indicate a problem with the filter.
What is the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH of the water?
What sort of filter is on the tank?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the tank?
Do you add salt (sodium chloride, marine salts) to the water?

Does the brown area on the shell feel softer than the rest of the shell?
If yes, that could be a fungal or bacterial infection.

How often do you feed it?
What do you feed the crab?

Can you post some more pictures of it from the front when in water, and from above and front when it's out of water?

 

[Ashleytaylor]

The water always looks a little cloudy.
The filter is newer and bigger then the last one I just had in there.
Salt and conditioner is always added. I’ve literally changed nothing except the filter. I can show you pictures of boxes and bottles, my bf usually deals with it all.
I tested the water and even took it into the pet store everything is fine.

I do over feed them but, that’s nothing new. I’ve never picked her up, she’s only just getting used to my hand coming near her.

 

[Ashleytaylor]

Those are the best I can get of her out of water, she’s hiding right now.
That’s all the stuff I use,
It’s that filter brand but that one’s for a 10 gallon, I got a bigger one now.
They’ve been eating that food for about 3 almost 4 months now, they’ve had a few different things and nothing has yet to happen.

The little one you can see by the pipe is my new one. ( bought today. ) the water isn’t super cloudy anymore. It’s been cleaned a little. There’s a bit of algae at the moment.

 

[Colin_T]

How often and how do you normally clean the filter?

You don't want to change the filter media/ materials unless they are falling apart. If you have sponges or filter pads/ cartridges, you can squeeze them out in a bucket of aquarium water and re-use the sponge or filter pad. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the lawn. Do this about once a month.

You don't need carbon in a filter unless you have heavy metals or chemicals in the water supply.

-------------------
If you go through a lot of salt, you can buy a 10 or 20kg bag of swimming pool salt from most hardware stores or chain stores (BigW, Kmart, Target) and it will be cheaper than aquarium salt. It's exactly the same thing but cheaper because you buy a big bag of it.

-------------------
Make sure they get some plant matter in their diet. Most green leafy vegetables can be offered, as can things like pumpkin, zucchini peas, carrot, etc. Make sure anything offered to them is free of chemicals.

Don't feed them onions or onion relatives (spring onion, shallots, leeks, garlic) and no potatoe.

 

[Ashleytaylor]

The filter and the carbon in the filter gets changed once a month It gets removed, the the mesh rinsed out with clean water new carbon is put back in.
Absolutely nothing has changed with what I do to the water or anything.
There’s always Java ferns in there, they get switched between cat fish pellets, a sinking pellet that released calcium and food.


Only thing I can think of is I just took them from half land half water, to a full water set up ( YES YES.! They do still have many points accessible to climb out onto dry land ) Maybe when the switch was happening some bad bacteria released from under the rocks and she was eating on it.?

I had an air thing under all the land because it was pooling water, so I removed it all and put airlines along the bottom. Then put the land back in to stop the pooling.

Maybe she ate something that was already contaminated.? Or walked through or in it.?

Can I save her.? Because she’s still walking, still eating, she’s coming up to land a little more, im thinking she’s trying to moult as well. Well hoping

 

[Ashleytaylor]

How often and how do you normally clean the filter?

You don't want to change the filter media/ materials unless they are falling apart. If you have sponges or filter pads/ cartridges, you can squeeze them out in a bucket of aquarium water and re-use the sponge or filter pad. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the lawn. Do this about once a month.

You don't need carbon in a filter unless you have heavy metals or chemicals in the water supply.

-------------------
If you go through a lot of salt, you can buy a 10 or 20kg bag of swimming pool salt from most hardware stores or chain stores (BigW, Kmart, Target) and it will be cheaper than aquarium salt. It's exactly the same thing but cheaper because you buy a big bag of it.

-------------------
Make sure they get some plant matter in their diet. Most green leafy vegetables can be offered, as can things like pumpkin, zucchini peas, carrot, etc. Make sure anything offered to them is free of chemicals.

Don't feed them onions or onion relatives (spring onion, shallots, leeks, garlic) and no potatoe.

 

[Slaphppy7]

By replacing the filter media, you are disposing of beneficial bacteria that consume the ammonia and waste from the tank.

As asked before, what are your readings for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte, using a liquid test kit?

 

[Ashleytaylor]

So, there’s all the pictures I could get of her inside the water, and outside of the water.

It started as a tiny tiny spot near her 3rd and 4th leg and has since then taken over. About a course of a month, just over a month, she’s been like this.
She’s still eating, she’s still walking around the bottom and hanging on the bridge, she still comes up to dry land.

 

[Ashleytaylor]

By replacing the filter media, you are disposing of beneficial bacteria that consume the ammonia and waste from the tank.

As asked before, what are your readings for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte, using a liquid test kit?

Even when it’s only cleaned once a month.? It’s literally removed when the inside is all slimy green. Rinsed out and put back,

 

[Ashleytaylor]

By replacing the filter media, you are disposing of beneficial bacteria that consume the ammonia and waste from the tank.

As asked before, what are your readings for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte, using a liquid test lite

 

[Ashleytaylor]

Literally nothing has been changed with what’s done, she has survived 8 months of me doing the exact same thing.

Can she be saved and helped.? Or is she a lost cause.?

 

[Slaphppy7]

Yes, if you are cleaning in chlorinated tap water

If you do not have a test kit, I recommend getting one ASAP.....

API® | FRESHWATER MASTER TEST KIT

The API FRESHWATER MASTER TEST KIT measures the 4 most important levels in freshwater aquariums quickly and accurately, including pH, high range pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.

apifishcare.com

My guess is the crab is suffering from ammonia poisoning in an uncycled tank...that would explain the cloudy water, more than likely

 

[Slaphppy7]

Literally nothing has been changed with what’s done, she has survived 8 months of me doing the exact same thing.

Can she be saved and helped.? Or is she a lost cause.?

There's a difference between surviving, and thriving

Get that test kit, test the water, and post your results here

 

[Ashleytaylor]

By replacing the filter media, you are disposing of beneficial bacteria that consume the ammonia and waste from the tank.

As asked before, what are your readings for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte, using a liquid test kit?

I don’t have a liquid test kit. But it was a little hard but that’s just the water here.