HCA: Hermit Crab Association

GotButterflies mentioned she would be interested in seeing the isopods I keep, so I decided that I should make a post to show them off! The isopod hobby is quite young, and definitely not all of the species I’ll be sharing are suitable for the crab tank. Just thought it would be interesting to share since not a lot of people know just how many different kinds there are!

Just a heads up that I have some that are the same species but are different color variations of them.

Armadillidium maculatum “Zebra”

Armadillidium nasatum

Armadillidium nasatum “Peach”

Armadillidium peraccae

Armadillidium vulgare “Amelia island”

Armadillidium vulgare “Magic potion” (these are still young, they should develop some black and yellow flecks of color on them as they grow)

Armadillo officinalis “Greece” (this species can make a hissing noise!)

Armadillo officinalis “Spain” (same species as above, still able to make a hissing noise)

Cubaris murina “Little sea”

Oniscus asellus

Porcellio dilatatus

Porcellio expansus

Porcellio hoffmannseggi

Porcellio laevis “Caramel”

Porcellio laevis “Dairy cow”

Porcellio scaber

Porcellio scaber “NJ Calico”

Porcellio scaber “Orange”

Porcellio scaber “Orange dalmatian”

Porcellionides pruinosus “Powder blue”

Porcellionides pruinosus “Powder orange”

Trichorhina tomentosa “Dwarf white” (this species is parthenogenic which means they’re all females!)

Venezillo parvus



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Hope you all enjoy seeing all the different kinds! They fascinate me.


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Whoa! That's quite a variety! Beautiful! Hissing isopods sound like something I'd like!

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Oh My Goodness!!! Those are awesome!!!! Thank you so much for sharing those!! I have some of what you call Dairy Cow. They were sold to me as Dalmation. Is that just another name for them? I don't have very many - just a small handful. How do you store all of these?

GotButterflies wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 04, 2019 11:27 pm

Oh My Goodness!!! Those are awesome!!!! Thank you so much for sharing those!! I have some of what you call Dairy Cow. They were sold to me as Dalmation. Is that just another name for them? I don't have very many - just a small handful. How do you store all of these?

In the U.S. I’ve noticed we usually refer to the similarly colored white with black spots Porcellio scaber as Dalmatians while the white with black spots Porcellio laevis are known as Dairy cows. Dairy cows are usually referred to as Dalmatians in Europe.
I use storage totes, I have a bunch of containers stacked under my bed at home. Most people are weirded out by that thought. The addiction started with my friend and I trading species we got. Now there’s a lot of them! I’m hoping once I get my permit and they breed enough that I can start selling! They’re fascinating to me, as well as many others.

Are all of these species crab safe? I'm looking at getting some once I can set up my 55g!

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*shudders* that's a lot of bugs (I'm absolutely terrified of all of them. There's a stinkbug on my bedroom curtain? I start screaming like I'm being tortured and run as far away as I can )

Those are sooo cool! I think my favorite you called ‘little sea?’ Those are so so pretty! Would those be considered ‘crab safe?’ Sorry, I know you’re getting a lot of those ?s! If/when you get to the point of being able to breed/sell/share, you’ll have an awesome selection to choose from. Thanks so much for taking the time to take the pics and post them accordingly.


Dave the Wondercrab~ Pat~Billy~Pop~Corn~Ten~Sam~Tim~
Gene~ Barry~New Kid~Mr S~Princess~ Red Ryder + 5 Es + Mr EnDoh =my crabby clan!

Fledgling wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 06, 2020 8:36 pm

Are all of these species crab safe? I'm looking at getting some once I can set up my 55g!

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Not all of them are best suited for the crab tank. Species like Porcellio hoffmannseggi are more favorable of dry conditions with lots of air flow. I think the best for crab tanks are dwarf whites and dwarf purples.

Overmountain1 wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 06, 2020 11:37 pm

Those are sooo cool! I think my favorite you called ‘little sea?’ Those are so so pretty! Would those be considered ‘crab safe?’ Sorry, I know you’re getting a lot of those ?s! If/when you get to the point of being able to breed/sell/share, you’ll have an awesome selection to choose from. Thanks so much for taking the time to take the pics and post them accordingly.


Dave the Wondercrab~ Pat~Billy~Pop~Corn~Ten~Sam~Tim~
Gene~ Barry~New Kid~Mr S~Princess~ Red Ryder + 5 Es + Mr EnDoh =my crabby clan!

I haven’t tested them out with the crabs, but to my understanding they come from Cuba and prefer a good amount of humidity so they may fair well. You might want to start with a higher amount because they are slightly slower producing than the isopods you find outside.

PinchersAndShells wrote: Not all of them are best suited for the crab tank. Species like Porcellio hoffmannseggi are more favorable of dry conditions with lots of air flow. I think the best for crab tanks are dwarf whites and dwarf purples.

I want to put isopods in my tat but have been kind of scared off by all the posts talking about how they've taken over. I was thinking it might be better to put in a variety that is actually not so well suited. I was thinking about dairy cows. What do u think?

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