HCA: Hermit Crab Association

1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
7 inch mix of play sand and eco earth.

2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read?
Yes, 78 degrees and 88% humidity.
3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
2 UTHs taped to the back wall.

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)?
Instant ocean and plain distilled water for fresh.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
Replace every 1-2 days shrimp, walnut, plain popcorn, fish, cuttlebone etc

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
PP had them both for 5 years

7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
smaller crab just emerged from molt today and larger one molted ~9 months ago

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
10 gallon tank with a custom plexiglass lid with holes drilled in it, weighted down

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
2 crabs one small-medium another medium

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
5 extra shells

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
not to my knowledge

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
every 12 months I do a complete remodel and substrate change

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?
No

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?
No

15. Is there any other information you would like to share that might be helpful (anything that is regularly part of your crab care, playtime, bathing, etc.)?
Don't take them out of the tank much

16. Please describe the emergency situation in detail.

My littler crab just emerged from a molt today. As I was leaving for school, I noticed they were having a shell fight. Tried to get the bigger crab off but to no avail. Came home and the little guy was missing part of his back leg. My other crab is still attacking him. Each time I separate them the bigger one comes back. I can't get him to stop, what should I do? I've got the bigger one blocked off inside their hide for now. He seems like he's trying to escape...

Hi sorry to hear that this is happening to your little crabbie. The best thing that you can do is to make an isolation tank to place your newly molted crab into, to separate him from your bigger crab. Wait a couple of days until your little crab has recovered from his molt, and then you can place him back in the main tank with your other crab. Hope this helps!


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Also, forgot to mention that the reason why your freshly molted crab is getting attacked is because freshly molted crabs are more vulnerable because their exoskeletons haven't hardened yet and they also often have a different smell to the other crabs in the tank. As a result, he will need to be isolated and fed calcium and protein rich foods such as popcorn, dried shrimp and cuttlefish bone (just to name a few) which will help them to harden their new exoskeleton


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Angel_crab wrote:Also, forgot to mention that the reason why your freshly molted crab is getting attacked is because freshly molted crabs are more vulnerable because their exoskeletons haven't hardened yet and they also often have a different smell to the other crabs in the tank. As a result, he will need to be isolated and fed calcium and protein rich foods such as popcorn, dried shrimp and cuttlefish bone (just to name a few) which will help them to harden their new exoskeleton


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OP stated that they've had their crabs for 5 years and have been through molts before, and are already feeding the foods you've mentioned. Also, a crab that has molted normally is already hardened when they come up from underground and don't need to be isolated.

***So one thing I noticed is that they aren't really getting any vegetable matter or leaf litter which is a large part of their diet in the wild.

What size are their shell openings? Just speaking from personal experience, but crabs in good conditions tend to grow pretty rapidly, and after a few years in one tank, would be in at least 1" plus openings.

Part of the reason that the crab was attacked may be leftover traces of molting smell, but if the crab dug its way up after a molt, there shouldn't be much left.

It looks like you supply protein and calcium so the crabs shouldn't be deficient in those nutrients.

Are your gauges digital or analog? Have they been calibrated? What sort of shells are offered?



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It sounds like it could have been a shell battle, if they only have 5 extra to choose from between them. 3-5 extra shells per crab is a good number to have and honestly you can't go wrong with more.



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The gauge is digital and has been calibrated. The shells are all turbos with ~13/16th openings, some bigger and some smaller.

I would recommend a bath just in case it is leftover molting smell. It sounds silly but a bath often helps cases like this.

After five years they may have reached a size where they are becoming territorial. A 10 gallon isn't a ton of space and these guys can get pretty testy with each other if they feel like their space is being invaded. A few months alone may have made your big guy feel like the tank is all his, and now there is suddenly someone in his space. If a bath and some extra shells doesn't settle him down, I would be considering this as the issue.

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wodesorel wrote:I would recommend a bath just in case it is leftover molting smell. It sounds silly but a bath often helps cases like this.

After five years they may have reached a size where they are becoming territorial. A 10 gallon isn't a ton of space and these guys can get pretty testy with each other if they feel like their space is being invaded. A few months alone may have made your big guy feel like the tank is all his, and now there is suddenly someone in his space. If a bath and some extra shells doesn't settle him down, I would be considering this as the issue.

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This as well. I got distracted and had to cut my commenting short.

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