Curiosity with idea

[TClaunch]

So, I've been fascinated with all types of vivariums ever since I did a project in grade school years ago with a paludarium inside of a 3 liter bottle.. Anyway, I've been dreaming of the "perfect" paludarium ever since. I've always wanted a fully closed one, but can only do that if I use shrimp in the water, lol, but that's no fun...

So, I've been planning on this one for a while, it will be semi-closed, so, closed, with a lid or opening so I can go in and fix/clean/feed.

I wanted it in a long case, such as a 30 gallon or more and in different layers. Most bottom layer will be a mix of rocks and carbon filter rocks and the top will be a mix of sand and Eco Earth coconut fiber substrate with a little bit of moss on top.

There will be a water fall in the corner emptying into a small creek that goes down into a pool of water on the opposite side of the case. The water will travel under the rock/carbon rock mix on the bottom and go back into the waterfall.

In the pool of water will be a small air wand blowing oxygen into the water to keep oxygen in the water and the tank to help the water fall keep the water from going stale.

Now, I know this may sound nice to certain people and you may be asking why I would use those materials, such as the carbon and substrate.. well, I want to put hermit crabs in it.

Now, I KNOW that hermit crabs are messy. They like to tip things over all the time, dig, etc, so the paludarium may not look so beautiful for too longer, but that's why I was going to make it sub-closed since it seems sorta obvious.

However, my main reason for this post was... I wanted to ask what other people thought of, not only my idea for the paludarium, but if I should add hermies or not.

I already know how to take care of hermies since my girlfriend has three. She doesn't take care of them that well so I'm always giving them water, feeding them, cleaning up their cage and misting it because she leaves the substrate dry. We don't have to worry too much about humidity because of where we live. It's always humid here, lol. She's also in a room that was converted from a garage, so it's usually warm and humid anyway.

So what does everybody think? Sorry if I typed too much, lol, just wanted to get my point through and all that jazz.

[beckdg]

plants? or no?

[TClaunch]

I've heard of a lot of problems with plants + hermit crabs. Such as bugs, plants being eaten, and just dug out of the ground. So no, just some hiding places and extra shells.

[beckdg]

then here's what i would do to make your idea work...

have you seen the "european vivs" (the case style) where the f/b is built right into the glass or plexi? something similar comes to mind. my guys dig at least 6" to the bottom and then i can hear their little claws/legs tapping at the bottom glass trying to go further. because of that and the fact that they tore through fiberglass screening in a couple days and had my leca at the top of my soil i would not attempt to layer my soil. i'm pretty sure that idea will prove useless fast and who wants to put in all that effort and then do it over next week.

sooo... i'd build my pump box to go straight up to the lid and give plenty of space for me to get in there. then (assuming your case will be glass) i'd fit a piece of glass around that and silicone it to the surrounding walls leaning slightly towards your pond for run off purposes. if you still want some carbon at this point you can put a little in a filter media bag and drop it in your pump box where the water will flow through it, it can be replaced and it'll be out of view.

i would not try to layer my soil at all... so coco fiber will do just fine. i'd personally get it at a hydroponics store. you'll get more for your money and there's a chance it'll be better quality too.

your waterfall can be built right into your pump box if you'd like and your stream could easily go from there without an issue. i might be inclined to make a ledge all the way around the pump box to act as a reservoir and catch all the water to feed the stream. a dripper manifold could be split up with 5 hoses on one side/4 on the other/etc. to give you the flow you want yet still keep the splashing to a minimum so as to not soak your soil.

i see no reason we can't have plants with our hermies... we'd just have to be careful in selection and give plenty of time for them to take root. for instance a strong creeping vine would probably do good creeping up a b/g and some sturdy epiphytes such as some anubias bartieri grown terrestrially could be attached to wood used for a hide or climbing surface. anything "potted" i don't think would work for too long though for obvious reasons.

at any rate, i don't want to get too far ahead of myself unless i know you're understanding me. sorry for the long post, but you started it.

[TClaunch]

Lol, yeah, I have this thing for long posts =D Thanks a lot though. I understand completely and if I can't layer the soil (cause I saw your post and pictures about the fiberglass), then I'll just leave them with the substrate. I'll leave the waterfall idea for a non-inhabitant or less destructive inhabitant, lol.

The only thing I'm worried about now.. I live really close to the beach and I can just go out there and pick them up if I just wish to, or I can buy them from most of the local stores around who pick them up randomly... I don't know if those are a 100% salt water species, or if I can leave them out of water with the substrate with an extra bowl of salt water.

[beckdg]

an extra bowl of salt water should be just fine.

[TClaunch]

Alright, thanks a lot =D

Yeah, it's a lot easier to just pick one up instead of paying $15 from a gift shop or $5 for one at Pet's Mart or Petco that probably traveled hundreds of miles before getting to the store.

I love hermies now. Before meeting my girlfriend, I thought they would just be like normal crabs in an aquarium, walking around picking up scraps... after meeting her and her 3 hermies I found out how neat they are. They each have their own personality.

Petunia, which happens to be a male that wont leave a shell with a painted petunia on it, is the most active and VERY complacent. You can pick him up, and he'll lean out of his shell just to say hi.

Then there's Handicap, who's missing an eye, which is the escape artist. He's always trying and almost always succeeds.

Last but no least.. "Thing" He's as big as both of her other hermies put together. He's huge, but he stays underground for some reason. I check on him all the time and he still moves around. Any ideas why he may not come out of the ground? I'm sure he's still sort of stressed... He was the largest out of about 20+ at a mall kiosk, and even though the sign said don't touch, every little kid and their parents would pick them up anyway.

Any ideas how to keep him out and active? He'll stay in the same spot underground for days on end. I don't even know when the last time he ate was.

[beckdg]

shade, humidity, salt, hides, food...

if he's just a freak that enjoys being down there they may be nothing you can do about it. my little buggers have minds of their own too. they also bury themselves to molt which they'll need sea salt for.

[TClaunch]

Well, Petunia is the only one that has molted. My girlfriend says that was the first time she's ever had a crab long enough to do that. However... she threw out the old shell before he could finish eating it. I was a bit upset, but.. he seems to be just fine. However, she wont give them salt water, only fresh water in an automatic water dispenser.

If I could take these crabs away and take care of them on my own, I sooo would, lol. I feel like she abuses them because she neglects them so much. Only thing she ever does is look at them and change their substrate like, every 2 or more months. Usually when she starts seeing fungus gnats.

That's another reason I wanted to make my own paludarium specifically for hermies. Maybe showing her I can take better care of them than she can will eventually lead to "here, you can have them" lol.

[beckdg]

honestly, i don't buy into the whole "they need both salt and fresh water" idea, personally. i could be SOOO WRONG, idk. i do use instant ocean salts made for salt water fish tanks and sprinkle that over the substrate from time to time before i mist the enclosure so they have the salts for osmo-regulation and moulting purposes. there seems to almost always be one moulting so, i'm guessing it works just fine.