Worried a picky crab might fight over “his” spare shell, any advice?

[Malphe]

Hi everyone!

My largest crab, OD, is also my most recent joiner. When I got him he was in a shell that seemed too small for him - not enough to worry me but I hoped he’d switch out soon. But he turned his nose up at every shell in the tank, and at all the new ones I gave him. Eventually he did change shells, but he kept hold of the old one and wouldn’t let any of the other crabs near it. (I suppose because he felt short on options, so he was worried.)

After a fortnight of this, he went down to molt. He left the old shell above ground, and my smallest crab LC promptly switched into it. It’s far too large for her and it’s very entertaining, but she seems very happy with it. She went down to molt with it maybe 10 days ago.

Now OD has returned from his molt and he immediately set about checking all the shells in the tank, chirping with annoyance because they aren’t His Spare Shell. Now he’s sulking in his usual Sulking Spot, which is all pretty normal for him, but I’m worried he’ll bully or fight LC for it when she comes up.

My problem is OD needs shells with 1 3/4” openings and the two shells he’s worn are my largest brown tapestry turbos. In the tank right now I have have 8 turbo shells large enough but in white or jade, a dozen brown turbos but smaller, and another dozen of the right size but different shell types. I have more in my stash that I rotate in an out but he’s refused all those too. I can’t find any larger brown turbos for him!

Is there anything I can do, beyond keep offering shells, and keep a close eye on them both when LC comes up from molt? (And if anyone has recommendations for where to reliably get super big shells from, I’d appreciate it... the last few I got were markedly smaller than advertised.)

[Xenocrab]

Dip the shells in salt water and try again. They are attracted to them more then

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