HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I've posted about my aggressive E before- but now its just gotten too bad.

I heard some chirping and looked over to the tank and what do i find? Biggy my E had dug down and found my molting PP Crabby. I try tapping on the glass to get her to move but can't, so i get my mom to pick her up and she puts her in the salt water pool. Okay, she stays in there for a bit as i lightly cover up Crabby because, well, Crabby was mid molt and was still soft and at that point unresponsive. I was in such a rush and had a million things to do, so i left for a few moments trying to find a jar to put over crabby, couldn't find one, and when i come back Biggy's mauling my other PP, Red! I spray her to to get her off of him and put her in a seperate container.

Needless to say right now she's in a 2g tank w/ just the basics- fresh and salt water, food, and a make-shift hidey hole out of a plastic cup.

I dont know why she got so aggressive, I've been feeding them sooo much protein due to a science experiment, extra calcium, and 4 different veggies everyday! I dont know what to do with Biggy, this isnt the first time she's done something like this- though the first time she unearthed a molter. Usually when she gets aggressive she stops after a while, but this time she went all out.

Was I right to isolate her in crab-jail? Right now I'm not home and my family is taking care of them for the weekend, and Biggy's tank is sitting on the kitchen table (our house is so small it wouldn't fit anywhere else). I know 10g is the minimun, but for a short period of time? And what should I do with Biggy? I can't keep two tanks up- thats madness, to me at least. I dont have the time to maintain more than one at a time. Is there any way to stop her from attacking? Please and thank you to any responses.

I think it is OK to keep her in the small tank for a few days until you can figure out why she is bothering the other crabs.Maybe she needs an E friend if you have room in the bigger tank.
Kathy

I'm sorry I don't have any answers but I am curious to see what everyone else thinks. Bumping this one up.

I've had crabs of different species attack molters (the PP that ate two Es and got named Hannibal). I think sometimes they just smell too good to pass up, even if you feed them a perfect diet! It's not a pleasant experience, but it's not that abnormal either. If a diet full of shrimp, plankton, krill and other shellfish doesn't deter them from going after molters, then it may be a learned behavior that you have to continue to watch out for.

If they're okay with each other when they are not molting, then you may just want to consider having a molt ISO set up for when the time comes to prevent this problem from happening again. Either move the molting crabs to the ISO, or put Biggy in there until their done.

I personally used it as an excuse to run two separate tanks so I had more room for more crabs. One for the PPs, and one for the Es! I don't find it to be much more labor intensive as I just do all the tanks at the same time while I have the supplies out, and so I only have to clean up after myself once.

Thank you for the replies.

Kathy: I wish I could get another E, and have been on the look out for a while, but alas the Petsmart near me has changed its hermit crab tanks into fiddler crab tanks! And the stores that do have hermit crabs don't have Es ): If I did get another E I'm not sure if I would have the space for it- I have 4 crabs in a 20L. My PPs are growing fast, and I dont know if 5 would be okay in the long run.

Wodesorel: Gah thats horrible D:! This is one thing about hermit crabs that I find completely wretched. By no means is my diet perfect, but i think a buffet of egg, ground beef, and shrimp would aid in their satisfaction! And its not just when they're molting, she always attacks, but usually stops. And the main reason I dont want two tanks is no room ):

How do you figure out they are molting though? My crabs dont usually show any molting symptoms, they just dig down and do their thing. I never even know where they go! I dont know if a molting iso would work if i can't find them D:! I'm just not sure what to do with my overly-aggressive crab, and I hope Crabby pulls through >_<

I wonder sometimes if it isn't the minerals in the exo that the crab is wanting.I find the first thing new crabs go to is the HCP mineral dish in my tanks.CRabs that have been here months also go to the mineral dish often.Injured Robby with no legs and no small pincher would eat these minerals for as long as I would hold him up so he could. Literally by the teaspoonful every day for 3 weeks. He preferred these to anything else.He now has a molt sac and to-day he has gel limbs.
Kathy

Hmm.. thats a good thought. I'm probably not giving them enough minerals. I'll see if I can buy some of the mineral supplements you suggested ! Thank you!!

Congratz on Robby's recovery!!

EDIT: Was it this you were feeding them? http://www.hermitcrabpatch.com/Natural- ... /su100.htm

Yes that is it.My crabs eat this stuff non stop when they first arrive and before and after a molt.
Kathy

Update:

Biggy is still isolated, I'm yet to decide what to do with her. But, i thought I saw Crabby up and out today. I was wrong.

Red (my other PP) is wearing Crabby's shell. In the hole where Crabby was was what looked like Red's shell (I can be sure, but it definitely was an extra shell.). Crabby is no where to be found. The way I know that its Red in Crabby's shell is that Red has red eyes, and Crabby has black. Red is also very purple in color, while Crabby is lighter and more orange at the tips. What do i do? Do I look for Crabby underground? I just put a few shells by the hole. Red has NEVER been aggressive, unless attacked. Could he have stolen Crabby's shell?!

I need to get that mineral stuff. I'm afraid all my crab's have gone aggressive