HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I'm about to set up my habitat for the crabs I'm expecting. The plan is two or three PPs in a 10gal. My question is regarding the salt and fresh water. How much do they need of each? Do they need one more than the other? I understand they need to submerge and be able to climb out. Is that the only restriction?

Thanks!

They should have 2 bowls( one salt and one fresh) relatively equal in size. The only other big requirement is that your largest crab should be able to submerge himself fully in both bowls. Both bowls are equally important for your crab to life a healthy life.

Got it. Thank you!

I have seen it mentioned on here that some crabbers do like to have one pool/dish larger than the other. Can someone who has done this tell me which water is better to have larger or which water the crabs prefer to submerge themselves more than the other? Thanks!

I think all crabbies r dofferent. Mine like to submurge in the saltwater but i have never seen them sub in the fresh. I keep both big because i read once that if their shell water gets too salty they well go in fresh and visa versa

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I've always done a smaller pool or bowl for the salt water and a larger one for the fresh and the simple answer is because the salt water evaporates at a rate double that of the fresh water its cost effective in my case to have it in a smaller container thereby wasting less of it to evaporation.

I have a mix of PP's and E's and they use the fresh and salt water pools as and when they need so both waters see a fair amount of activity throughout the week and so must be changed out once a week or so due to the excess pollution that finds it's way into the waters.

My pools are due for a water change and cleaning but I have had a very hectic schedule over the last few days and it doesn't seem that it will be slowing down at all any time soon.

Hermitcrabs have to keep their shell water at a certain isotopic balance by mixing the fresh and salt waters together until the crab achieves the desired balance and because most of the exotic hermitcrabs don't posses an internal storage mechanism to store the salt they need to survive in their bodies they are completely dependent upon the availability of salt water to survive.

Personally, my crabs seem to prefer salt water over fresh for swimming, but they still love to hang out around the edges of the fresh water dishes. I just have two approximately 1 litre Tupperware containers and they love them


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