What the of crab is this??

CrabDad · Post by **CrabDad** » Wed Mar 11, 2020 10:58 am

So we have three crabs that we got from a pet store for my daughter for Christmas. They seem to look and act very different. One is red and loves to climb, one is red and seems small and shy and spent first two months buried, and one is grey and bigger than the ones but does not really climb. How do I figure out what type of crabs these are? I have tried looking though this site but I am sure I am just missing it.
BTW - thank for this site because I am certain ours would be dead by now because we were doing everything wrong as we were following the instructions of care from the pet store. we now have them in a 30 Gallon crabitat and are working on some new cool designs to give them something to climb around and water/swimming ideas! Fun for me and my daughters - even caught my wife watching them the other night!
Thx,
Crabdad

Post by **JoeHermits** » Wed Mar 11, 2020 3:28 pm

I've moved this topic out of the Water forum.

Based on your location I'm gonna guess purple pincher (Coenobita clypeatus) since the United States don't really have a whole lot of selection. They have big purple claws and a "shield leg" that you can see when they retract. If they're red they may be strawberries (C. perlatus) if they lack the purple claw. I thought we had an identification guide on here at one point but I can't find it.

I'd recommend posting pictures for an ID including the big claws and eyestalks (if you can). You may either use the Tapatalk app or link to another photo sharing site.

Motörcrab · Post by **Motörcrab** » Wed Mar 11, 2020 5:24 pm

Like Joe said, posting images would be the easiest. for us on here. Most people download the TapTalk app to their phone and upload pictures that way.

You can also check out our care guide area for description of every common species.
viewforum.php?f=120

We don't have photos in the guides, but if you copy the scientific name of the species into google images you will get a ton of pictures as a reference.

You may also have an Ecuadorian (Coenobita Compressus) too they are pretty common as well.

CrabDad · Post by **CrabDad** » Fri Mar 13, 2020 5:36 pm

Thanks guys! I think they are PP but just really know for certain. they are very shy and shell up every time we go near the tank... Pics are hard to come by...
Crabdad

Post by **JoeHermits** » Fri Mar 13, 2020 7:32 pm

CrabDad wrote:Thanks guys! I think they are PP but just really know for certain. they are very shy and shell up every time we go near the tank... Pics are hard to come by...
Crabdad

You don’t have to get the whole crab if it’s not convenient. It’s fine if you pick up a retracted hermit crab for a big claw shot.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

HCA: Hermit Crab Association

What the of crab is this??

What the of crab is this??

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