Es or Strawberries?

[aussieJJDude]

Well if Whd could fit around 60 in her 135g display cabinet, I would say a max of 40 for me... However, a more reasonable number would be around 20....

[wodesorel]

Yeah, I'm a little tight in mine and I have to watch them closely. Once I add more molting space to the bottom they'll be fine and I can go back to being laissez-faire. The trick is to add more crabs slowly, give the newbies time to molt and get through their PPS stage, and see how things are going. It's taken me 5 years to get to 60 crabs. I was at 13 crabs at the end of year 1.

It also gives you time to get comfortable with them. When my tank flooded back then it was an easy afternoon fix with no harm done and not too much stress. With how many crabs I have now, everything takes a lot of planning and an emergency situation has to be avoided at all costs. But I've had a few years to get to the point where I already know what to expect, so it's not as scary or as dangerous as it would be back when I was learning everything. I also think it's easy to get overwhelmed with a big colony if you bite off too much at the start, since there can be a domino effect when something goes wrong.

[CallaLily]

When I had the 120g (6 ft x 18in) the most I had at one time was 27. 5 of those were Es. It seemed pretty full to me. But that's just me. I know there are varying opinions.

[moonbeam]

I've been emailing back and forth with a lady who has 18 pps in a 125g. She's had her crabs for years and wants to rehome some of her smaller crabs to give her big guys some more space. I'm all for stocking up a tank with lots of cute little crabs but I guess what I'm trying to say is just remember that small crabs will grow into large crabs who will need more space. But if you do stock up you could always adopt some out like she's doing once your crabs get big and beefy

[grandlinegirl]

Makes sense! I had someone contact me wanting to adopt their crabs out because they don't want them anymore. I'm considering it. I'd hate the two crabs to stay in a home where they're not wanted...

[grandlinegirl]

I might not buy anymore crabs and just adopt local crabs that are no longer wanted for my new tank

[moonbeam]

I might not buy anymore crabs and just adopt local crabs that are no longer wanted for my new tank

I think that's an great plan. I'm sure all of your future adoptees will be grateful for such a nice big tank to roam in!

I unfortunately bought all of my crabs before I really considered adoption. I don't regret getting them, I love them all but I've made a promise to myself that from now on any new crabs will be adoptions only. It wont take long for me to reach a capacity I'm comfortable with but there's always upgrading in the future for the little guys to grow big in

[MuseCrazy]

I have 17 PPs 2 E's and 3 Straws in a 150 gallon tank together. They mostly stay out of each others way unless they are at the food dish or in the moss pits where they all cuddle peacefully. The straws have claimed an area by the salt water, the E's like to tunnel under the coral, and the PP's have full run of the tank. I have not experienced aggression/cannibalism with my E's, prior to me adopting them they lived with PPs for 1 year so maybe that's why they blend so well. I only ever witnessed 1 "fight" between an E and a PP and that was when I had 12 in a 29 gal. They were both trying to push the other off of the flower pit second level. It was actually quite funny, I didn't separate or ISO them I just watched and let them work it out.
Strawberries are very docile. Today I watched one of my large PP's basically walk all over one of them. They just tuck into their shells and wait lol. I've had 2 successful molts so far, still waiting on the third.
Keeping temp and humidity stable in a tank that big is a little difficult, but once you find the right balance you can look at E's as the next species up. If you get a good batch they are really fun to watch. It is a good idea to have a back up tank just in case. I think having a lot of second levels and climbs and places for the crabs to be helps lesson the the probability of an attack.

[Knibitz]

I've never had issues with aggressive E's before, but I've always had small E's mixed with medium and large PPs. So maybe if you have bigger PPs just stick with small Es if you can.

Right now I have my 5 medium/large PPs, 2 small PPs, and one micro E. He's only been here two days, but very much kept to himself and just explores around the tank. I wouldn't call him a terror....yet...