Edible Food List Acorns (crush and soak overnight in salt water then drain before serving) Agave Alfalfa Almonds, crushed Aloe Amaranth (Ancient grain) Anchovy oil Apple and natural, unsweetened apple sauce Apricot Arame Artichokes Ash Wood Asian Pear Asparagus Avocado Bamboo (live plants make wonderful tank toys and grazing) Banana Barley Basil Beans Bell peppers (red, yellow, orange, green or purple) Bee pollen Beef, no seasoning Beets Bilberries/Huckleberries Birch Wood Bison, no seasning Blackberry leaves Blackberry and leaves Blackstrap molasses (unsulfured) - amazingly high in nutrients such as calcium and potassium; 1-2 times monthly Bladderwrack Bloodworms (alive or dead) Blueberries Borage blossoms (Borago officinalis) Broccoli and leaves Brown rice Brussels sprouts Cabbage (all varieties) Calcium carbonate powder, plain Calendula flowers (Calendula officinalis)-Also known as "pot marigolds" Camellia (Camellia japonica) Canteloupe Carnation flowers (Dianthus caryophyllus) Caribou, no seasoning Carrots Carrot tops Cashews Cauliflower and leaves Celery leaves Cereal; Brown rice, soy, wheat or 7 grain, muesli Chamomile flowers Chard Cheese (be sure to get all natural varieties, serve as occasional treat) Cherimoya Cherry, Fruit and wood Chestnuts Chicken bones Chicken, cooked and unseasoned (smash the bone for marrow access) Chickweed Cholla wood Cilantro Citrus (all fruits) Clams Clover blossoms and leaves Coconut meat, shell, water and coconut oil Cod liver oil Collards Coral Cork bark Corn (on the cob, too) Cornmeal Cranberries (dehydrated) Crickets Crustaceans (any and all crustacea including crayfish, lobster, shrimp and other crabs) Cucumber Currants Cuttlefish bone, powdered Dairy products (milk, cheese, live-culture yogurt) ** Daisies (Bellis perennis) Dandelion flowers, leaves and roots (Taraxacum officinale) Dates Day lilies (Hemerocallis) Duck Earthworms Egg, scrambled or soft boiled Eggplant Eggshells Elderberries Elderberry flowers (Sambucus canadensis) Elk, no seasoning Extra-virgin olive oil Fig (ripe fruit only) Fish, no seasoning Fish flakes w/out chemical preservatives Fish Oil Flax seeds/Linseeds (crushed) Flax seed oil (small amounts infrequently) Frozen fish food (esp. algae, krill and brine shrimp) Garbanzos Gladiolus (Gladiolus spp.) Gooseberry (ripe or overripe) Grape Leaf Grapes Grapevine (vines and root) Grasshoppers Green and red leaf lettuce (not iceburg; dark green) Green Beans Guava Hazel leaves Hazel nuts Hemp seeds Hempseed Meal Hibiscus flowers (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) Hikari products: brine shrimp, krill, crab cuisine, sea plankton (no preservatives) Hollyhock flowers Honey (organic, or at least locally produced, for anti-microbials) Honeybush Honeydew Melon Honeysuckle flowers (Japanese Lonicera japonica) Impatiens (Impatiens wallerana) Irish Moss Japanese red maple leaves, dried (Acer palmatum) Jasmine flowers (Jasmine officinale) Johnny-Jump-Up flowers--(Viola tricolor) Kale Kamut Kelp Kiwi Krill Lentils Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) Lima Beans Liver, no seasoning Lobster with crushed exoskeleton Locusts (dead) Lychee fruit (fresh; no kernel) Macadamia nuts Madrona wood Mango Mangrove (small live trees can be obtained on eBay, use in water basin) Maple leaves Maple syrup Marion Berries Mealworms Millet Milk thistle flowers (Silybum marianum) Mint (but not peppermint!) Moose, no seasoning Most organic baby foods Muscadine (grapes) Mushrooms Mussels Nasturtium flowers (Tropaeolum majus) Nectarine Nettle (wilted) Nettle, stinging (pour boiling water over leaves first) Oak Leaves and bark Octopus Okra Olive and olive oil (extra virgin) Oranges Oysters Pansy flowers and leaves (Viola X Wittrockiana) Papaya Parsley Parsnip Passionflowers (Passifloraceae - passion flower family) Passionfruit Pasta Peaches Peanut butter (avoid sugar, corn syrup and hydrogenated oils) Peanuts Pears Peas Pecans Pecan bark Peonies Persimmon Petunia blossoms Pineapple Pistachio nuts Plankton Plantain Plum Pomegranate Popcorn (unseasoned, unflavored, unbuttered) Pork, no seasoning Potato (no green parts, including eyes) Prickly pear Psyllium & husks Pumpkin Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) Quinoa (New World grain) Raisins (no sulphur dioxide) Raspberry Red raspberry leaves (highest bioavailable calcium source + vit. C and trace minerals) Rolled Oats Rooibus (or rooibos) Roquette (Eruca vesicaria) Rose petals (Rosa spp) Rose hips Royal Jelly Russian Olive leaves (Elaeagnus angustifolia) Safflower oil Sage blossoms (Salvia officinalis) Salmon Sand dollars Sardines Scallops Sea biscuits Sea fan (red or black) Sea grasses Sea salt Sea Sponges Sea urchins Seaweed Semolina Sesame seeds (crushed) Sesame oil (in tiny amounts as appetite stimulant) Shrimp and exoskeletons Silkworms Snails (use human food grade only; not wild snails) Sorrel (Rumex acetosa) Soy and soy products (human grade; miso, tofu, etc.) Spelt Spinach Spirulina (complete protein and chlorophyll source; highest in beta carotene) Sprouts (flax, wheat, bean, alfalfa, etc.) Squid Squash (and squash blossom) Star fruit (carambola) Strawberry and tops Sugar cane Sunflower Seeds (crushed), flowers and leaves (Helianthus) Swamp cypress wood (false cypress, taxodium sp.) Sweet potato Sycamore leaf Tahini (no garlic variety) Tamarillo Tangerine Timothy hay Tomato Tree Fern Triticale Tulip flowers (Tulipa spp.) Tuna Turkey. no seasoning Turnip greens Venison, no seasoning Viola flowers Violet flowers (Viola odorata) Walnuts Wasa All-Natural Crispbread (Oat flavor) Watercress Watermelon Wax worms Wheat grass Wheat Wheat germ Whitefish Whole Wheat Couscous Wild rice Worm castings Zucchini (and zucchini flowers)* *This food list is mainly adapted from Summer Michealson and Stacey Arenella's book, The All-Natural Hermit Crab Sourcebook, and expanded on by Julia Crab and others ** After extensive tests in several EH member tanks, it has been discovered that dairy items are not lethal to crabs. In fact, most crabs really enjoy cheddar cheese, live-culture yogurt, and the occasional drink of milk. While extended long-term testing is still underway, there has been 8 months of trials with no harm to the test crabs. For now, dairy is acceptable, once every 30 to 60 days as a treat. It should not be relied upon as a food base.
