HCA: Hermit Crab Association

You always have the most awesome crabs! They look terrific.

Well, bad news. He's dead. When I moved him I saw his abdomen, and he was starting to smell alittle. I still can't believe how this suddenly happened.

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I think that my E died. :( I can't tell for sure because he's facing upward and I can't see his abdomen, so it could be a molt. And there's also no smell. The eyestalks don't seem to be empty though, and I found his shell somewhere else in th...

Congrats! First molts always feel like such an accomplishment. It means you're getting more experienced at being a crabber!

Sorry for your loss! Its always really depressing to see a crab go. Especially the ones you've had a long time. Everthing in your tat seems to be okay though, but I would really suggest dechlorinating your water, or at least using bottled.

It could just be PPS, but it would help if you could fill out the template. There could be something stressing him. 1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it? 2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what tempera...

If the markers say non-toxic I guess it can't be too bad, but I find it a little unlikely that 2 crabs would switch shells with eachother in one night. Usually I can tell by size and color, and if one crab changes a shell I can usually tell before another changes into his.

Marine crabs always look so exotic and alot different from land crabs. They're pretty cool. Be sure to return that one soon though, my friend got some in a bucket once and they all died within two days.

Crabs don't really have advanced emotions that allow them to be emotionaly scarred. They'll eventually get over the stress.

All of my crabs hang out near the salt water dish. Its perfectly normal.

Cool, it sounds pretty funny.

Weasel had one eye, but it grew out now.

Better safe than sorry. Its better to assume its around 5 min. just to be careful.

When I bath them I but them all in a plastic bin. When you bath them make sure the water isn't above their antenea, and be sure to have some things they can use to climb out of the water, like a small island or cocohut. I think that crabs can only hold their breaths for up to 15 min.

The most logical explanation is that they either buried it or draged it all into some hideout for later, which they will eventually forget about. I don't think crabs will eat that much. Check around the tank and I'm pretty sure you'll find the leftovers.