Ask Milo – Protecting a molter from a tank mate

Shawn writes:

What should I do for my crab gypsy she went down for a molt shortly loosing hr companion sparky? I got her a new friend just before she went down now parodite keeps trying to dig her up. I tried putting gypsy in the molting tank but she was unhappy there anyway I can tell how she’s doing? Or how can I keep parodite off the area until gypsy is ready to come up? I have a small ( gypsy) and a tiny ( parodite) in a ten gallon with 6 inches of half sand half eco earth.

Hi Shawn!

Isn’t it frustrating when you have a naughty crab on your hands? The best way to isolate Gypsy is to cut the base off of a 2 Liter plastic bottle (like pop comes in) and press it down where Gypsy is dug under. You must be gentle so as not to collapse the burrow but if you press it all the way down to the bottom of your tank there is no way Parodite can get to Gypsy. You will want to remove the cap to allow air exchange. If you aren’t sure exactly where Gypsy is you could use some plexiglass to divide the tank in half and then use another piece to lay over the substrate above Gypsy. That way even if Parodite scales the divider he/she can’t dig down.

Hope this helps!

Your friend in a pinch,
Milo