Avoiding Mold in Hermit Crab Tanks
Avoiding mold in hermit crab tanks is an important part of ensuring good health and happiness in the habitat. There are two main ways mold growth occurs in hermit crab habitats:
- rotting food
- excessive humidity and moisture
Mold growth is avoidable. Some hermit crab pet owners never experience mold issues.
If you do encounter mold, there are simple steps to take and a few changes to make, in order to get rid of it.
Mold loves rotting food
Mold loves moist, organic decaying material. Moist food gets old and begins decaying quickly. Generally speaking, it’s best to remove moist food within 12 hours, and definitely within 24 hours.
Moist food like fruits, moist (canned) hermit crab food are the most common culprits for mold growth. Fresh strawberries typically grow mold quickest, and should definitely be removed from the hermit crab tank within 12-24 hours.
Once hermit crab food starts rotting and decaying, mold begins to grow. This is the perfect environment to attract pests like fruit flies (gross!) that also love decaying organic material.
Tip: use 2 food dishes
Dedicate one dish to moist foods (fruits, veggies, crab etc) and one dish for dry foods (hermit crab foods, dry algae, fish food flakes and other dry snack foods, etc). Simply remove the moist food dish after 12 hours (or no more than 24 hours). The dry food can stay longer (and is the best type to feed your hermies while you’re on vacation). Mold on fresh moist food shows up fast. By seperating dry and moist, you’re protecting your dry food from mold growth.
Got space constraints? A food “dish” can be as small and simple as a flat shell, bottle cap or similar container that can hold a little bit of food. Hermit crabs do like to sit in their food dishes, so we put moist food on a small shell and moist food in a medium sized dish. More on hermit crab care while on vacation here!
Mold loves excessive humidity and moisture
High humidity and moisture can easily cause mold growth. If you live in a colder climate, you may need to use a heat lamp and/or you may use a fogger to add additional moisture. You may have a large water pool with moving water. Depending on the elements you have in your hermit crab tank, you may have a higher change of growing mold.
It’s also important to understand the type of hermit crabs you have, and what their specific needs are. The most common type of hermit crab pet is the Purple Pincher, which doesn’t require as high a level of humidity and temperature as Ecuadorians, Strawberries and other less common hermit crab types. If you have Purple Pinchers only, you can keep your hermit crab tank healthy without keeping it super moist and sweaty! But if you have other types of hermit crabs, you’ll need to keep a close eye on your humidity levels, while keeping everything mold-free.
Regular misting is good for a hermit crab habitat to help maintain humidity and moisture in the air. We use a $3 (non-BPA) spray bottle and mist (with de-toxified water) once a day. If water doesn’t evaporate quick enough and the temperature is high, it’s possible for mold to grow just from daily mistings so it’s important to figure out the best amount and frequency for misting and stick to it, for your individual habitat parameters and needs.
Mold spores exist in nature, they are everywhere. It’s very possible for mold spores to travel into your hermit crab tank on food, in the air, on moss and in substrate. Mold occurs in nature, but it doesn’t grow into the black stuff you don’t want UNLESS it has the right parameters to grow in. Watch for excessive water pooling in corners, excess water on moss, wet wood… and of course, rotting food. Not only will you need to get rid of the mold, but you’ll most likely end up with nasty fruit flies or other bugs too (yuck!)
More on pests commonly found in hermit crab habitats here in our recent blog post “5 Ways to Keep Hermit Crab Habitats Free from Pests“.
