HCA: Hermit Crab Association

We've got a crab that did exactly the same thing in our previous tank. I was too fascinated watching to get my camera, so good thinking on your part! It was yet more incentive for us to get a taller tank!

Glad you like them! One of the biggest things you can get from a camera with a good lens is control of the Depth of Field. Notice in the last pic how the crab is in focus, but the background is blurred out? Depth of Field helps isolate the subject, which can give the photo more pop.

Thanks! I'm using an older SLR camera with a reasonably fast lens attached (specifically a Nikon D5100 with a Sigma DC 18-50mm EX Macro F2.8 lens). That said, I think the best ways to improve crabitat shots are to make sure the glass is really clean and to avoid lighting that causes reflections on t...

Thanks! Now that they've had a chance to settle in, here are some more pics of them wandering about: https://i.imgur.com/Bl47Nye.jpg https://i.imgur.com/YuqJMwW.jpg https://i.imgur.com/ZGQsg0a.jpg https://i.imgur.com/y9SNlCy.jpg And here's a shot of three of them sleeping together: https://i.imgur.c...

Thanks everyone! Natural was the goal. All four crabs are Caribbean purple pinchers and the goal was to try to set up a habitat not unlike the environment from which they came. Of course, things did have to be adjusted to what was available in the pet supply universe. All of our crabs looked dull, h...

Ideally, you want the substrate depth to be three to four times that of your largest hermit crab's shell for digging and molting. In addition, crabs love to climb things, so the more height you can give them above the substrate, the more places you can give them to play. I just had our four crabs in...

Back in May of 2016, my family came back from a beach vacation with two hermit crabs and I immediately joined this forum. We started with a 20 gallon reptile tank (which was completely wrong), then moved to a 29 gallon aquarium and added two more hermies, which we figured would allow each crab to ha...

Just watching the weird things he does give me the feeling he was an old, fat house cat in a previous life. He looks so much better after his molt. When we first bought him, he was paler and most of his tips were broken. I got this shell at a souvenir shop. It was the biggest they had. I wanted to t...

After ignoring it for a couple of weeks, then burying it, our largest hermie decided a new turbo we'd put in for him was good after all and he moved from his old murex. So tonight I find him just hanging out. Like this:

Your wiper blade idea is brilliant. I wish I thought of that. I had the same problem with a gap and was having a heck of a time trying to keep the humidity up. I finally spent hours scouring the internet looking for a piece of rubber edging that would fit right Thanks! 28" is the longest wiper blad...

Thanks! Good to hear your temps are similar. It looks like I'm around 84 degrees near the heater and about 82 near the front of the tank. I'm experimenting with bubbling the water and adjusting the air gap in the the glass top to try to get the humidity constant without condensation being an issue. ...

I actually have a valve in the line and have the air dialed down as low as I can go and still get both stones to bubble. But starting last night, I increased the size of the air gap in the glass top and seem to be doing better. The humidity stayed around 82% for about a day and the condensation disa...

Thanks a bunch for the tips! With regards to covering the top of the tank, are there any concerns that it would suffocate my poor crab? I also worry that by keeping it covered most of the time, the moist and stagnant air will lead to a lot of bacteria/mold growth. Is this something I need to worry ...

Thanks for chiming in! Based on all the advice, I decided to embark on a do-over and have set up a new 29 gallon tank. I've posted the details here . Welcome to the HCA! You seem to be doing great as far as just getting started goes. Something you could plan down the road to boost humidity is get a ...

Hi and welcome to HCA! I was in your shoes a few months ago when my son wanted a hermit crab from the souvenir shop at the beach during our family's vacation. From the moment we walked out of the store I've been reading and researching to learn all I can. So I'll pass on a few things. But please be ...