HCA: Hermit Crab Association

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? About three inches of a half sand and half coconut fiber mixture. Curly - Be sure that it is moistened so that it holds it's shape but not so wet that water pools. It should be at least three times as deep as your largest crab, so de...

I am sorry to hear about him passing away. I agree with the suggestion made by CL77. I believe most of these suggestions have been made to you already. You can focus on getting your tank conditions ideal, prior to getting more crabs. They go through so much prior to us getting them, that the only th...

You can either mist some water over the surface, or you can pour a bit along the edges (I know some people will put more than this, but I'm cautious and use maybe 1/4 cup at a time, divided and poured in a few different areas along the sides/ edges - it will then leach through the rest of the substr...

That's good to know. I have this fear that after we move him he'll have the environment he needs and will begin the molting process and the substrate will get too dry down below while he's buried. After he's lived in spite of his less than ideal beginning, I want to be sure we do all we can to make...

Only certain things will be able to be dried without a dehydrator. It's the same process as for human food, so a website that talks about drying food for human consumption will give you some idea. If you have an oven that the setting can be low enough, there are things that could be dried that way -...

I know it is tempting to "collect 'em all," and it hurts our hearts to see crabs in need, but in fact adding any crabs to an established group greatly increases the probabilities of aggression, injuries, and molting cannibalism. It is also really important to consider how many softball-sized crabs ...

You need Instant Ocean (or another marine salt), not soaking salt. Did you read the water care sheet?

I have 5 PP's in a 40 gallon and it's quite spacious, I'd say it really depends on the setup more so than the capacity because if you have a multi-layer 30 gallon vs a 40 with 1 level then really all that extra capacity is lost and unreachable. Nonetheless my crabs seem to enjoy their setup and the...

Welcome to crabbing! Sounds like you are off to a great start!
It is totally okay for the UTH mounted on the back or side to go below the substrate line. The sub may dry out a bit more there, but you can always add a little water as it does.

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? 6” coconut fiber Curly - Is your substrate moistened with dechlorinated water so it holds it's shape? 2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humid...

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? Coconut 1/5 and play sand 4/5 4-5 inches deep Curly - Is it moistened with dechlorinated water so that it is sand castle consistency? 2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they locate...

Please re-read the 'water' care sheet. What is sold as hermit crab soaking salt is not marine salt.

Very experienced crabbers with HCA, who have rescued hundreds of crabs, have never had better survival outcomes from using a method like the PPDS one. A crab can not put off a molt indefinitely - eventually they have to molt, and will do so no matter what conditions or substrate (or lack thereof) th...

Your conditions sound good, no immediate reason I can see why they wouldn't molt. I had my two in a ten gallon for the first two or three years I had them.

What is the range of your humidity?
What type and how deep is your substrate?
How large are your crabs?