HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I strongly recommend a straight razor blade for cleaning glass. Scrubbing dirty fishtanks can scratch the glass if there is any sand, gravel or mineral debris. I've ruined a few good tanks this way! A razor blade will cleanly remove anything that can be removed. If the glass is still hazy after then...

I'm using a waterpoof version of them. I would not recommend having them inside the tank where the crabs can reach them, but the light isn't harmful.

Small temperature dips and length of daylight can certainly affect them, I've noticed the same thing with mine for the past 11.5 years. In the dead of winter they pretty much just stop eating for a bit. Come spring and lengthening days they go back into full gear again. They do have seasons where th...

You should read through our guides for help. They are excellent heating devices, and very safe. I used to be a lamp user, but the cost for replacement bulbs racks up fast, and heat lamps have a higher fire and burn risk. UTH are set and forget.

I get 25 degrees out of my side mounted UTHs.

Yeah, they only need a dip to rinse them off. Anything else is just stressful and unnecessary.

Good read. Thought I’d chime in and mention that my cousin used to work for the city, something with water (don’t know his title)...and he said “if you knew what was in your tap water you’d never drink it again”. I didn’t ask any specific questions, but I don’t drink tap water anymore, lol. Sent fr...

I've found it needs good airflow to keep from molding. I also let mine dry out and then rewet it so it doesn't say wet at all times. The crabs don't care. Eventually the mold will run it's course, or having springtails will keep it away completely.

I took a water class in college a few years back (for a natural resources degree). I have been paranoid ever since taking Environmental Geology 101. The professor was responsible for maping well contamination for a university project. Something about one of the popular pizza places serving coliform...

Yep, you rescued an abandoned pet for sure. The furthest north you’ll see a land hermit crab is the Florida Keys. There are no US range maps and no published studies, but historical data shows anything coastal South of Tampa could possibly be native for them. Probably unlikely with how much develop...

The only thing that would concern me is the weight involved, pushing on the seams. Crab tanks are just like building a DIY fishtank in terms of how the pressure is distributed. Reptile tanks never have to worry about that kind of thing, unless it's a specialy paludarium for like water dragons. You m...

Yeah, it's a territorial thing because they feel each other are invaders. Best thing to do is dip them all in the freshwater pool - it makes them all smell the same and usually that is enough to settle them all down again.

HermitofHermitCrabs wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 21, 2021 11:21 pm

In my opinion calcium sand is a waste of time and money. There’s naturally occurring nutrients in regular play sand and then I feed mine crushed oyster shells for calcium.

Pure playsand should be near 100% silica, so there are no nutrients in it. It's inert.

Any gauge can be wrong out of the package, so it's important to double check and calibrate it. It's supee easy! And then you have peace of mind that you're getting proper info.

There is no label control on bottled water, so you are more likely to get bottled tap than something straight out of a natural spring.