How many crabs for 40 gallon tank?

[Jumpde]

Hello, I’ve heard you guys are great at answering questions for crab care, so I thought maybe I’d give it a shot

I’ve been keeping 4 crabs in a 40 gallon tank for the past 2 years, and so far I believe it’s been going well. I know that a 40 gallon is capable of hosting a much larger colony, and I wanted to ask, does having a colony this small affect the crabs? Should I think about having more, or is this ratio of crabs to tank size suitable?
Im very happy with the amount of crabs I have, and I believe this number allows me to focus on the crabs much more individually. I just wanted to get you guys’ opinions though.


Thanks!

[curlysister]

What used to be thought of as 'social' behavior is now known to be more 'resource sharing'. So where there are more resources, there will be more crabs. Crabs do just fine as singles, in pairs, or in multiples. There is no reason to have more or less crabs, other than personal preference - and of course how many can be safely housed in the size of tank a person has.

Here is our care sheet that explains how many crabs can be safely kept in what size of tank:
https://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/p ... 26&t=92541

[Jumpde]

Thank you! The link was also very informative