HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I'm in the process of planning my custom crabitat.

I have a decent budget, and really want to go for a natural (cork bark, coconut fiber, driftwoid, rock, live plants, "flowing" water) look that can be a centerpiece in my living room.

I'm also hoping to incorporate a 10 gal custom freshwater aquarium as the fresh water source (with neon tetras or guppies) (I have a LOT of aquarium experience, but I don't know how or if this can transfer over to my crabitat).

I really like the idea of creating a "natural shoreline" effect using an angled custom aquarium/building it in to the habitat.

I know what I want, but I'm struggling to picture a design for the enclosure. Does anyone have experience with this kind of undertaking? Lesson learned or things you would include in an "ideal" setup?

Work out how you're gonna build this, are you going full custom and building a plywood set-up or just using a large aquarium and decking that out. Obviously, both have their merits but one may not be as suitable to your needs as another.

I'd avoid neons in a 10g, neons are pretty active and do better in longer tanks. Volumetrically, a 10g is fine, but not long enough to give them area to move. Plus they are incredibly finicky, and so inbred and suffer from lack of rigorous quality stock.

Best bet would be to work out what you want, and the budget. These will ultimately influence what your setup will look like, and going around the web and looking at things like other crabber setups and vivarium displays will give you some inspiration to potentially add to the tank build.

If you are interested email custom Crabitats for a free quote on any sized custom Crabitats with or without decorations.

Custom Crabitats
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Avid fishkeeper here too. I would avoid neons as well given they do best in cooler, sub tropical water (which is very contrary to popular belief). Given the crabitat is ideally kept at over 80F temps, the water will be pretty warm.

I do like the idea of a live and healthy aquarium. The established nitrogen cycle will allow you to go a week or more between partial water changes.