HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Thank you both! We’re going to keep an eye on it. We’re due for a sub refresh anyway so next time we scrape it up we may backfill with clean dry sand to mitigate the extra moisture.


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First, your new tank set up is beautiful! It looks airy and cheerful, I'm sure your crabbies love it! Second, I have a question about the photo below. Is the green stuff harmful, or only the black? We have been seeing a lot of the green (no black) along the front glass of our 65g. We scrape it away ...

@GotButterflies - Thanks for the info! She did seem a bit broody, hiding out (in high places) alone for a few days. Incidentally she went into a larger shell the very next day; she wasn't able to withdraw completely--or even halfway!--in her old one. Junior (the male) seemed to have lost interest an...

Junior's been terrorizing a smaller crab all afternoon, and roaming frantically around the tank when he couldn't get near it--which we now know is a "her"! After trying to diagnose his behavior (shell fight? dominance? the other crab is just in his way?) and shooing him off a couple of times, I sear...

Just made it to Richards. If either of you need something specific I can pick up
and mail you, lmk. I’ll be here probably until 3pm EST (it’s Thursday May 16).


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Found one of our larger turbos abandoned in the shell shop and measured the opening at 1 3/16”. This is alarming because it seems we suddenly have at least 3 crabs in shell openings larger than 1 1/8”. They tend to hold on to their shells FOREVER so I didn’t notice the collective growth spurt. I pic...

Today is Sunday night, and Sparky has been immobile and covered by a coco hut since Friday morning. We peeked at him very briefly Saturday afternoon, just long enough to determine there was no discernible smell. I was going to wait a couple more days before checking again but my husband was concerne...

Do you have any raw organic honey? If he didn't pass he may try eating that for an energy boost. Yes, I offered it every day on a q-tip, usually dipped in something like powdered bee pollen or cuttle bone, and he did take some. Do you know how long ago his last molt was or noticed and change in his...

Our Eddie did the same thing in the water. He would stretch way out extending his leg out as far as he can. This is exactly what he did! Well we didn’t have long to wait. This morning when I peeked in I panicked because it looked like the shell was empty. Then I saw Sparky had pulled far back into ...

Today Sparky (we don’t know which of our seven he is, so we’ve nicknamed him with a bit of spunk) seemed a bit more active. Every time I checked on him he was wiggling his one leg, or scraping a q-tip popsicle with his little appendages. He spent HOURS—literally like 4-5 hours—scraping q-tips and a ...

I hope it goes well! Thank you! It may just be the angle, but those extra shells look too big to me. Also if you're not sure about which shell was his you might try some smaller or at least lighter than the one he is in (Along with same size and larger) I'd imagine it's already hard enough moving w...

How is your guy doing? He’s hanging in there. This morning we found he had spun himself around and was facing in the opposite direction. Not the shell, the shell hadn’t moved, and his abdomen was still curled up, he had just spun his body around by pushing with his one remaining leg. When I picked ...

@Motörcrab thank you. I read through both of the linked threads. How do you hand feed? And how do I help him get a drink? Our water dishes have about an inch of water, should I just replace them with bottle caps or make the water only 1/4" deep? Should I turn his shell so the opening is along the gr...

Thanks, @overmountain1. We’re wishing we knew what happened so we know if any other crabs are in danger. If anyone can give us ideas of what to look for, thanks. I’m beating myself up for being extra hands off since the holidays (it’s been a tough winter/spring), feeling like a bad mom (my husband’s...

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190508/8df01ca6da5033db19cac8f78fe02b95.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190508/1dece5fd1ceaa64f06009112d7566f19.jpg Might not be a hole in the claw, might just be how the underside looks (where the claw hinges) and I never noticed? Sent from my iPhone using...