HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi! I am so sorry to hear about the crab fight. Hopefully it will not ever happen again for you. I have experienced crabs grabbing each other and not letting go. For me what worked was dropping both simultaneously into either the salt or fresh water pool. Luckily this has always worked so far. Has y...

Hi! I am sorry to hear about your heat. 100 degrees must feel awful. Maybe you could try putting some ice in plastic bags and place them against the outside of the glass tank above the substrate and possibly on top of the lid. Just watch the temperature closely. Hope this helps.

Hi! I know vinegar can dissolve shells so I asked hubby about this question. He said the vinegar dissolves the calcium from the shells. This could make them more brittle so they could break easier and there could be rough spots that could be uncomfortable for the crabs.

Hi! Welcome to HCA. I am so sorry to hear of your loss. Eight years is a long time to have the same crabs. Obviously you are doing something right. I have had 1 crab for 10 years and 2 for 8 and 9 years. In the past when I had 2 crabs together they seemed to form closer bonds to each other than ones...

1 pint or 2 cups uses 1 tablespoon or 3 teaspoons of instant ocean

Hi! BB is very cute. A lot of times crabs come with worn off leg tips. They wear them down from walking around in the wild. She will probably molt soon and will return with all new leg tips. My crabs don't wear their leg tips down now that they are in captivity but many came with worn off tips. I wo...

I am so sorry to hear of your crabs death. Thank you for filling out the emergency form. I am not an administrator but a couple of things stood out to me. Purple pinchers should have a temperature range of 75 to 85. 70 is too cold. I have found that if a crab is too cold that it will hang out right ...

Did your crab surface molt? The second picture shows exoskeleton.

Hi! Crabs can bury themselves and leave little or no trace behind. I have also seen crabs fix the sand so no trace of digging remains after a fellow crab buries. One of my crabs usually fixes the sand when his tank mates go under. It is neat to watch.

Hi! Welcome to HCA. Thank you for saving that poor crab. I am glad to hear he is doing so well.

I love that picture of the big pincher next to the broken plant! That is what you call being caught in the act.

Did he reshell yet?

They are beautiful. Where did you get them from?

I love your pictures. They look very cute. Thanks for sharing.

Yes you did. Many of us use Instant Ocean.