HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I think I remember someone mentioning that Acrylic tanks are bad for crabs. Can anyone verify this? My dad used to build fish tanks for a living, so I was going to bum one off of him, but they're all acrylic :

I know that small acrylic tanks can be hard to maintain humidity. I also know that sand can scratch the acrylic something fierce if you use it. But those two things aside a large acrylic tank shouldn't be an issue. I keep mine in a fiberglass terrarium and I haven't had any issues.

I know some members that buy them inadvertently and haven't the money to upgrade yet do use them but whenever possible it's best to avoid them, not just because of the struggles you will face maintaining temp and humidity but because plastic scratches and even fine scratches can harbor bacteria.Sharp looking tank, Lola.

He built it in his house out of wood frame and plexiglass (he's a carpenter). I had to do the calculations to see how big it was, bit it would have easily fit four or five adults sitting in it. The dish in the foreground is molded plastic actually. The shell in it is about the size of my hand. It would awesome if it was rock! Here's another picture to kind of give you a sense of scale. It's not on the floor anymore though, it's up on a stand. I can't even begin to say how wonderful it is to have front access. I love it, my kids love it!

Lolagran, Your tank is absolutely stunning! Your crabs (and kids) are so lucky to have that. A note on acrylic tanks- I have two acrylics- a 10 G that was my main tank for two years and now is my ISO, and a brand new 30G SeaClear aquarium. The 10G was and still is practically self sustaining when it came to temp and humidity. I mist on occasion, but most days I don't have to do anything to maintain 70-75% humidity. (Now scratches- yikes, I had not thought of that! I don't really see any on my 10G, I do use sand, but the scratches would be below the sand line anyhow and not that visible). What I do notice is that now it is just an ISO tank, the crabs in it are not as active and don't dump the water bowls, so it does tend to dry out a little, but even so a quick daily mist and we're good to go. My new acrylic seems to hold humidity very well- I don't have a bubbler or anything, just moist substrate and two water bowls, and I've had to battle high humidity over the last few days-in the mornings it's been close to 90%. I must say though, that I live in a very warm humid climate in S. Tx and sometimes the ambient humdity is 70-80% outside. I also *think* but haven't been able to prove yet, that even though the tank isn't directly near an AC vent, when the AC is *on*, I have to work harder to maintain adequate humidity. The AC has been off the last few days (we had a cool front and it's down to 80 degrees, yay!!) and the tank is much more stable. I have a small mesh covered opening in the back of the tank about 2" by 16", and one more small golf ball air hole that is uncovered, and when the humidity gets too high I prop the lid about 1/2 inch open, and that seems to do the trick. With any new tank, I think it just takes time for everything to settle until you figure out how to maintain humidity- it differs with AC, ambient temp, water sources in the tank, how much the lid is covered, how active your crabs are, how damp the substrate is, where your gauges are in the tank.Twilight- what size acrylic tanks were you looking at?

I know this might be a silly question, but I'm a bit puzzled.Which bacteria is a problem with scratched plastic? I understand that scratched plastic could harbour bacteria, but it seems a bit strange to me to worry about scratched acrylic when the rest of the setup is more than ideal. Crabitats are fantastically habitable places for bacteria what with being warm, moist and chock full of organic matter. They have heaps of suitable places for bacteria to live and breed, the substrate alone is full of it, and the water dishes, shells, the lot. Scratches just seem fairly insignificant compared to all the other bacteria-friendly stuff that usually goes into one of these setups. Is it any particular sort of bacteria that is a worry with this?I encourage bacterial growth in my setup (the more surfaces, the better!) so I'm a bit concerned.Twilight, a 10yo tank will be a bit scratched, but usually only lightly. You can get acrylic scratch removal kits that buff most of these out. I'm not sure how good it will look in something without water against the side (water covers a multitude of scratchy sins ) but it might be worth considering if the acrylics are pretty beat up. It won't fix big gouges or scrapes though, only that swirly hazy look you get with light scratches.