If you keep crabs, especially Fiddler crabs or hermit crabs, there is a chance that you might be wondering if they could poop at all, judging by the fact that you might not have noticed any poop or sign of it at all in their tank. There are many types of crabs and their characteristics, for instance, crabs like the hermit crabs do stay in other animals’ shells completely, you might be thinking ‘ how in the world is such an animal able to poop?. You will learn all about that in this article.
Do crabs poop? Just like every other living thing that eats, crabs do poop, but their poops are so tiny that we sometimes don’t see them.
Crab is a member of the crustacean family, which consists of crayfish, Shrimp, etc.
They come in many types and sizes with their different looks too.
Some are aggressive and some are semi-aggressive, and they are scavengers, meaning they eat a lot of things, or at least some of the things we call rubbish.
Being able to eat a lot of things, that could also mean one thing, that they do poop.
The ability of the body to remove foods we eat from the body after extracting its nutrients etc is what is known as pooping or defecation.
So, as crabs do eat and they eat a lot of things too, that means that they could poop, just like every other living thing and all animals could do too.
If you are asking whether crabs do poop, it might be because you haven’t been able to notice them in your tank, so, know it now that they poop and that’s the only way to remove foods they eat from their body system.
What Does Crabs Poop Look Like?
If you are asking if crabs do poop, this could only mean one thing, either you are a newbie or you haven’t been very observant enough to notice their poops in your tank, so, here is what crab poop looks like.
What does crab’s poop look like? Crabs poop looks like a tiny brown dot in the tank.
Normally all crab’s poop is normally brown in color, be it hermit crab, fiddler crab, red claw crab, etc.
Their poops are always tiny, but sometimes not all of them are tiny, It depends on the size of the crab and the amount they eat.
So, if you notice some tiny brownish or dark substances at the bottom of your tank, then it is very likely to be their poop.
The reason we don’t normally notice their poops is that they are so small and could easily break down into tiny particles and settle or mix with Substrates at the bottom of the tank.
But when the crab defecates newly, you could be able to see them clearly.
Although there are different ways different kinds of crabs could defecate or poop, we shall talk about them below.
How does Hermit Crabs Poop?
As we mentioned above, some crabs defecate differently from others, for instance, Hermit Crabs.
How do hermit crabs poop? Hermit Crab’s anus is located at the end of their tails, they poop through their anus which drops inside their shells, and they usually push it out with their legs.
We all must have known by now that hermit crabs do harbor in other animals’ shells such as snails, periwinkles, etc.
They go right into the shell, leaving only their legs which they use to walkabout.
So, this crab poop right into the shells they occupy and will later push the poops out with their legs into the water which will then drop down to the bottom and mix with Substrates.
How Does Fiddler Crabs Poop?
Apart from hermit crabs that poop in their shells, fiddler crabs poop like any other crab.
How do fiddler crabs poop? Fiddler crabs poop through their anus which is located at their tails.
Every crab has an anus with which they use to poop, so fiddler crabs have the same.
When they poop, their poops will be brownish and very tiny like a dot, but in a short while after dropping it, the water breaks it’s into very tiny particles which will then mix with the substrates at the bottom of the tank.
The reason why you haven’t been able to see any of them is simply that the tank is planted and has substrates and caves which the poops mix with after being released.
How Do You Clean Crab’s Tank
One of the reasons why crab’s tanks could get dirty is because they poop, pee, and leave some foods in their tank which will decay and dirty the water.
So, how do we clean their tanks?
There are many ways to clean crab tanks, be it hermit crabs, fiddler crabs, etc, all of them could have their tanks cleaned the same way.
There are many ways to clean their tanks, such as adding some special chemicals to their water, which will neutralize all the dirt in the tank, thereby making them ineffective and could no more cause any harm to the tank.
Another method is to be cleaning the tank very frequently.
This method involves removing the substances and gravels, plants, etc, and cleaning the tank manually, then after that, all those things that were removed will be put back and new water added to them.
Although this is the most effective method of cleaning aquariums, but it’s time-consuming and taskful.
You can still use a filter to filter the tank and remove any dirt, be it leftover foods, poops, etc in the tank and it is very effective too.
Conclusion
Crabs do poop, but unless you don’t have any substrate, then you could be able to see them, if not you can’t easily see them, and that’s why you might be asking how they do poop.
Both fiddler crabs, hermit crabs, and others do poop because they must have to remove the waste material they eat from their body system.
