new to crabs, think I've got it all down :)

[destahays]

So, my boyfriend and I were talking about getting hermits. I did some research, realized they were a lot more in depth then I thought. A week later, a friend told me a different friend was getting rid of a crab...her kids had 2 of them, lost one outside (eek) and lost interest. So...it began. Got him, in about a 7 gallon tank with shallow subsrate, no heater, no saltwater, no shells etc. Now there are 9 crabbies (tiny-small) and as they grow I am planning to move them into my 55 gallon tank that is currently holding fishies. Below are my parameters. I think I've got all they need, possible may be a bit overcrowded, or close to it, but there are plans to change that! Also, since the other 8 came from a pet store I don't know how many are going to survive- 5 of them have been down for 2 weeks now, hopefully they will all come up happy as can be....
1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
Mix of eco earth and a black sand that is for marine or freshwater tanks, ratio is maybe 50/50 right now and is 6-8" deep.

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?
Have 2 temp/humidity combo gauges, one on the back wall above heater and the other on the side. My temp is at or above 90 in the very back and 82ish in the front. Humidity goes back and forth between 80-90%. I live in northern Wisconsin so the humidity is a fight right now- I struggle to keep my house over 30% humidity right now!

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
Ultratherm heater, the size that fits a 20 gallon tank, it's on the back of the tank and also have bottom, one side and back insulated.

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)?
Saltwater is in a double bowl with rocks and a ramp made with instant ocean is per instructions on this site. Freshwater is also double bowled, with ramp, rocks and a bubbler. Both are safe water (well water that also goes through a multifilter system) and then kept in gallon jugs. I use Prime or Reptisafe as well.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
Cuttle bone is always available. I bought a supply of food from an ebay user (got her link from this site) that has a variety of veggies, meat, fruit, grains etc. they get a combo of it every day. I replace every day to few days depending on the food of what they are doing with it (things like worm castings I figure are ok to get mixed in with the soil for them to nibble later, veggies and fruits get changed out more frequently. they also get little bits of my own meals depending on what it consists of- unseasoned meat or fresh veggies and fruit. I also have been giving them frozen bring shrimp or mysis- food that I have for my fish. Freeze dried krill and brine shrimp are being shipped to me right now.

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
I got the first one about a month ago, 4 more a few days later, and the last 4 a few days after that. I am pretty sure they are all PP's.
7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
Not that I know of, though I am not certain what the ones that are down are doing, whether they are just destressing or molting.

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
20 gallon regular tank. Lid is glass right now but I have a metal mesh lid that I will be switching to since I have night and day heat bulbs on the way.

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
9- all between tiny and small. The one might be micro...he is itty bitty....

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
Lots of extra shells...I ordered a large supply right away and got the kinds that PP's prefer according to the links available here

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
Nope.

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
I switch out the water frequently but no other cleaning has been needed yet.

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?
I have 2 sponges up in their moss pit, I just put them in when our outside temps plummeted and the humidity got down to 60%. Put them in just til I could get the humidity back up to par and will be taking them out soon.

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?
everything is new.

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.)?
Nothing yet, this site has answered pretty much every question I've had!

Please feel free to let me know anything I am doing wrong or can improve on. I can handle it

[aussieJJDude]

Welcome to the board!
I do agree, your tank cpuld be on the verge ot being severely overcrowded. A common rule that gets bounced around a lot is to have 5 gallons per crab. If possible, separating your colony into two aquariums may be wise to reduce aggression and chance of cannibalism when moulting.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[GotButterflies]

Hello Welcome to the HCA. I replied with GB for GotButterflies

So, my boyfriend and I were talking about getting hermits. I did some research, realized they were a lot more in depth then I thought. A week later, a friend told me a different friend was getting rid of a crab...her kids had 2 of them, lost one outside (eek) and lost interest. So...it began. Got him, in about a 7 gallon tank with shallow subsrate, no heater, no saltwater, no shells etc. Now there are 9 crabbies (tiny-small) and as they grow I am planning to move them into my 55 gallon tank that is currently holding fishies. Below are my parameters. I think I've got all they need, possible may be a bit overcrowded, or close to it, but there are plans to change that! Also, since the other 8 came from a pet store I don't know how many are going to survive- 5 of them have been down for 2 weeks now, hopefully they will all come up happy as can be....
1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
Mix of eco earth and a black sand that is for marine or freshwater tanks, ratio is maybe 50/50 right now and is 6-8" deep.

GB: I'm not sure about the black sand. Is it dyed? Substrate should be 6 inches OR 3 times the height of your largest crab (whichever is deeper). It should also be mixed with dechlorinated marine saltwater or dechlorinated freshwater to make the substrate sandcastle consistency.

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?
Have 2 temp/humidity combo gauges, one on the back wall above heater and the other on the side. My temp is at or above 90 in the very back and 82ish in the front. Humidity goes back and forth between 80-90%. I live in northern Wisconsin so the humidity is a fight right now- I struggle to keep my house over 30% humidity right now!

GB: I personally don't like the analog gauges. You can buy a digital Acurite guage from Walmart if you are interested They are $8, digital, run on batteries, and tell you temp and humidity currently as well as low and high for last 24 hours. You can find them in the home improvement section by the air filters. You can also buy them on Amazon Minimum heat and humidity should be 80/80. Your heat is a little high imo. I don't let my heat get above 85.

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?
Ultratherm heater, the size that fits a 20 gallon tank, it's on the back of the tank and also have bottom, one side and back insulated.

GB: Never place UTH on the bottom of the tank Please remove that asap

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)?
Saltwater is in a double bowl with rocks and a ramp made with instant ocean is per instructions on this site. Freshwater is also double bowled, with ramp, rocks and a bubbler. Both are safe water (well water that also goes through a multifilter system) and then kept in gallon jugs. I use Prime or Reptisafe as well.

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
Cuttle bone is always available. I bought a supply of food from an ebay user (got her link from this site) that has a variety of veggies, meat, fruit, grains etc. they get a combo of it every day. I replace every day to few days depending on the food of what they are doing with it (things like worm castings I figure are ok to get mixed in with the soil for them to nibble later, veggies and fruits get changed out more frequently. they also get little bits of my own meals depending on what it consists of- unseasoned meat or fresh veggies and fruit. I also have been giving them frozen bring shrimp or mysis- food that I have for my fish. Freeze dried krill and brine shrimp are being shipped to me right now.

GB: Great! You can also feed them food that you eat as well! Make sure you cover all aspects of food pyramid Foods should be organic when possible. Hermit crabs are sensitive to pesticides and fertilizers.
Safe food list: viewtopic.php?f=25&t=92557
Unsafe food list: viewtopic.php?f=25&t=92556
Food pyramid: viewtopic.php?f=25&t=92554

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
I got the first one about a month ago, 4 more a few days later, and the last 4 a few days after that. I am pretty sure they are all PP's.
7. Has your crab molted, and how long ago did it happen?
Not that I know of, though I am not certain what the ones that are down are doing, whether they are just destressing or molting.

8. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
20 gallon regular tank. Lid is glass right now but I have a metal mesh lid that I will be switching to since I have night and day heat bulbs on the way.

GB: I personally love glass lids. You can use fluorescent lighting with them, but not heat lamps. The glass lids help keep humidity in, which is extremely important. Yikes - you are definitely a little overcrowded imo. I prefer up to smalls to have 5 gallons each. If you are interested in upgrading, you can check Craigslist, Offerup, Letgo. Search reptile, fish, tank

9. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
9- all between tiny and small. The one might be micro...he is itty bitty....

10. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
Lots of extra shells...I ordered a large supply right away and got the kinds that PP's prefer according to the links available here

GB: The HCA recommends 3-5 shells per hermit crab. I personally recommend more. It never hurts to have more There are incorrect shells to buy. Here is the shell guide: viewtopic.php?f=24&t=92552

11. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
Nope.

12. How often do you clean the tank and how?
I switch out the water frequently but no other cleaning has been needed yet.

13. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?
I have 2 sponges up in their moss pit, I just put them in when our outside temps plummeted and the humidity got down to 60%. Put them in just til I could get the humidity back up to par and will be taking them out soon.

GB: Sponges are an old practice - I would toss them.

14. Has anything new been added to your crabitat recently?
everything is new.

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.)?
Nothing yet, this site has answered pretty much every question I've had!

Please feel free to let me know anything I am doing wrong or can improve on. I can handle it

[destahays]

My UTH is behind the tank, not underneath, so that is no concern.
The sand is for aquatic's- many people with shrimp use it...and shrimp are very similar in sensitivities to crabs (copper, dyes pesticides etc) so pretty sure it's safe. It is not dyed sand, it is actual black sand. And as I stated, it is 6-8" deep (and my biggest crab is about size "small" so my substrate is plenty deep for them at the moment. It is wetted down with saltwater.
I don't need more tanks...I currently have 6 of them I am in the process of moving my fish out of one of my larger tanks and the crabs will be upgraded I just got a temp regulator thingy so will get that going too, and that will help with my temp. I thought I had seen that PP's should have a minimum of 80? That is why I was keeping it higher.....
Since I just bought the 2 gauges I will stick with them til they fail on me....
Biggest thing I need to improve is upgrading my tank. Just an FYI...there is a post on this forum that says how many crabs you can have in your tank judging by the size of crab and according to that chart I am ok. That is why I actually have the amount I do...so maybe that chart should be adjusted so others don't do the same thing I did? Luckily I am animal crazy and can just move all my fish around to give my crabs a bigger home, but I know not everyone happens to have a pile of aquariums in their house
It is ok to have that many crabs together as long as they are in a large enough tank right? It was mentioned to split them into 2 tanks but I'd much prefer keeping one large tank, not 2 smaller ones....

[GotButterflies]

My UTH is behind the tank, not underneath, so that is no concern.
The sand is for aquatic's- many people with shrimp use it...and shrimp are very similar in sensitivities to crabs (copper, dyes pesticides etc) so pretty sure it's safe. It is not dyed sand, it is actual black sand. And as I stated, it is 6-8" deep (and my biggest crab is about size "small" so my substrate is plenty deep for them at the moment. It is wetted down with saltwater.
I don't need more tanks...I currently have 6 of them I am in the process of moving my fish out of one of my larger tanks and the crabs will be upgraded I just got a temp regulator thingy so will get that going too, and that will help with my temp. I thought I had seen that PP's should have a minimum of 80? That is why I was keeping it higher.....
Since I just bought the 2 gauges I will stick with them til they fail on me....
Biggest thing I need to improve is upgrading my tank. Just an FYI...there is a post on this forum that says how many crabs you can have in your tank judging by the size of crab and according to that chart I am ok. That is why I actually have the amount I do...so maybe that chart should be adjusted so others don't do the same thing I did? Luckily I am animal crazy and can just move all my fish around to give my crabs a bigger home, but I know not everyone happens to have a pile of aquariums in their house
It is ok to have that many crabs together as long as they are in a large enough tank right? It was mentioned to split them into 2 tanks but I'd much prefer keeping one large tank, not 2 smaller ones....

Hello again I just am not familiar with that sand. I've never heard of anyone using it. As long as the substrate is sandcastle consistency, and tends to hold that form, and it's working, sounds like that should be okay.

Glad to hear the UTH wasn't on the bottom!

Yes, minimum is 80 for temp - but some people struggle keeping it at that. I personally don't let my tanks get over 85. I live in Florida, and we do have PPs further south that are native to our state (and it gets hot here), but I don't like to take chances of making my tank too hot. That is just me..I play it safe. Always have.

That is nice that you have more tanks. Me too...that doesn't make my hubby happy though.

As far as the chart...that is what the HCA guidelines are...HOWEVER...Teeny and small hermits can grow fairly fast in the right conditions. I purchased a teeny one last year and it has gotten huge in the last year - it's almost a medium! When you take into account molting space - that is what is really important. You don't want hermits digging and running into a molter. A molting crab is hard for another crab to resist eating. I personally prefer to play it safe and have 1 crab per 5 gallons when it comes to small & medium crabs. That is my opinion...and you know what they say about opinions

[LadyJinglyJones]

Is the sand Aqua Terra or Fluorite sand?

[Lewisthecrab]

Some black sands have a weird smell to them if the sand smells don't use it. Congrats on getting crabs!