HCA: Hermit Crab Association

So I have an Ecuador hermit crab. Originally I bought him and another Ecuador together to keep each other company. However, within a few weeks of getting the crabs, the other crab passed away It has been a few months since the passing of that crab and since then, Roy has been less active and interested in things. I can tell he's lonely. I would be too. I've searched high and low for the past few weeks for an Ecuadorian crab in my area (Southern South Carolina) and there's nothing! I have looking on craigslist, ebay classifieds, petfinder, here, reddit, petco, petsmart, local pet store, even those awful beach souvenir shops! There is no sign of anything other than a purpe pincher anywhere near me! It's crazy because I live on the coast and I KNOW that people buy the crabs from the awful places by the beach. It makes me worry for the fate of those poor crabs... Recently, Roy has started to do even less than before and I am really worried for the emotional health of this little guy (all of the tank conditions are correct). So here's the million dollar question: If I get a purple pincher will Roy and the new guy get along? I know it's all going to be up to the individual crabs, but if they're all that's in the tank is there any chance they'll get along enough to keep each other company? Will it help him at all? Has anyone had any Purple Pinchers and Ecuadors that were buddies? I'd imagine it would be something like having the only person you could interact with be from halfway across the world speaking an entirely different language, but it would be better than nothing, right? The goal would be to get another Ecuador and another purple pincher for each of them to be buddies with after another ecuador pops up in my area, but to get another crab now so then Roy at least doesn't feel like he's alone. Would it be better to just wait for an E? Thanks in advance for your help!

I wanted to get an E with 2 PPs, but some people told me that they need around ten gallons each for the Es and 5 for the PP, and it’s good for them to have a species buddy. I only have a twenty gallon currently, and my substrate isn’t deep enough for an E. If you have a thirty or forty gallon tank, I would think it would be fine to get 1 or 2 PPs, then get 1(for a 29, or a thirty gallon), or 2(for a 40 gallon) Es, as a species buddy. If you have a twenty gallon or smaller, I would probably wait till they have an E available. You might want to wait till mods answer this too. I hope this helps!

thank you! I am just so devastated because the one store that has reliably stocked E's as long as I've been here ran out just as i decided to get one - that's just my luck haha!