HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Okay this is maybe a bit ambitious, so I'll run it by the experts lol I current have 6 large crabs in a 75G. It works, but I feel they could use some extra space. I'm moving house soon, so I figured it was a good chance for an upgrade. I've been looking for larger aquariums on sale with little luck,...

lotta good points Oh wow, thank you for this perspective! I haven't seen it said much, I guess it really is controversial <_< I wonder if the 'they need friends!' thing was started by the people selling them? Sell a few crabs to someone, and when one inevitably dies in poor conditions, the owner fe...

The only info that you're going to get will be anecdotal for the most part because the majority of people observing hermit crabs in captivity are people who have them as pets. Oh I meant more like, other research papers and studies that I don't know of :O Anecdotal is helpful too, just wondering if...

I'm still new to this hobby, so go easy on me, this might be controversial. :shock: So I have been keeping reptiles for years, and one thing that gets drilled into you in that hobby is herps (with a handful of exceptions) are NOT social. They only come together for mating, or to take advantage of a ...

Thanks for the input! I have made wood vivs for high humidity environments before so I am pretty confident haha I use this stuff called 'Bio Shield Aqua Resin' that is animal safe and does a great job protecting the wood (as long as it's not in direct contact with like moist substrate or somethin) I...

I'm planning on building a topper for my 75G with glass doors of some sort. Current plan are to go about 18-20 inches taller and add lots of climbing options. I'm trying to figure out the best pool size to use, especially as I'm not sure what size crabs I'll end up with. I know they need to be deep ...

Ah, I gotcha. Thanks, I will look into something smaller :) And I had the idea to just build a topper instead so I have more control on the size, and probably save a lot of money. Sort of like a normal aquarium canopy but with glass doors to see in? https://78.media.tumblr.com/4c9fcea8fadee606560ffd...

Is that really a big risk...? With the leaking, I mean. The tank is pretty securely siliconed, will the crabs destroy it or something? I've seen some cute vids of hermits swimming around in the bigger pools so I'd be sad if I couldn't D: For now I'm still just testing out layouts and such. I need to...

Thanks! The BG is a perk of working in a print shop, lol So I remember I have a spare 2.5 G laying around, so I was thinking if sinking it into the substrate for their saltwater pool and adding ramps. But for keeping it clean, should I go for a regular filter, or a protein skimmer, or what? I don't ...

You can add springtails to take care of any mold or fungus. I keep them in all my humid habitats and they do a good job of it.

https://78.media.tumblr.com/f412ee2b720339d819fe1f2757b8682d/tumblr_pah5323NwR1qhh173o1_1280.jpg I got the substrate in! I ended up using marine salt and dechlorinated water for the coco coir, the sand was already 'sand castle' consistency. Right now I'm just making sure I can get the right temps a...

Thanks for the info! I have an extra Reptisun 5.0 so I will use that.


I think I will have to mount it inside the tank since I'll have partial glass top covers to keep humidity in... That should be a challenge o_o Maybe I can attach it to the center crossbar thing...

Not sure what level hermit crabs need. :T

Should I get a 'desert' level like an Arcadia 12% or Reptisun 10.0, a 'forest' level like the 6% or 5.0, or something lower than that?

I figure with their shells they'd need a higher level to get the benefits but I want to make sure.

I've been poring over caresheets and topics to get a better idea of crab care. I have been keeping reptiles for over a decade now, and tarantulas more recently, so I have a lot of general animal experience. (It's a bit of an obsession, haha) I just got a 75g with stand for free from my neighbors, an...