HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hello!
UPDATE: found a crab to rescue! it is same species and size! very excited!

(info) my crab is a purple pincher (i think, if im wrong correct me) It is about 1.5" (using the size chart i found on here) My brother surprised me with it two days ago and i bought supplies yesterday:
instant ocean
eco earth (oh god so much...)
red heatlamp
UVB lamp
driftwood
3 separate bowls for salt, fresh, food
I already have prime bc i have a fishtank
already have shells bc i live next to a beach and have been collecting them over the years
small heatpad under the tank
calcium and "Crab cuisine" food by HAKARI (fed it some pieces of my orange slice too)
I already owned a 10 gallon, i can upgrade to a 20 if needed (i would prefer not to, all this stuff was expensive...)

So ive seen lots of sources say that i need multiple crab (2-3 at least), but just so i know, what happens to crabs if they are not in a group? ive seen people saying that they will die, become violent with new crabs after being isolated for too long, and that they will get depressed and not eat. Wanted to know if any of these are true or not.
The reason i am hesitating to get another crab is that ive seen lots of people say that their crabs ate eachother.. also ive looked into where the crabs come from and turns out like 99% are from the wild. Idk how they were harvested and im not sure if it was done in a eco-friendly way or in an ethical way. I wouldn't like to spend money to support it if so... I dont know if i can find the right size and species of crab if i look on craigslist or something... also its sketchy that all the crabs i see are still in painted shells. (i am on long island in NY)

anyhoo thanks for reading, looking forward to any advice given!! have a nice day

Hi, your setup looks great! One thing I would say is that the eco earth looks a bit dry. You should not worry about it’s friends eating each other, as this rarely happens on the occasions that one crab is molting and a larger crab digs it up. If you are feeding all the right nutrients then you should have no problem. I 100% recommend getting it some friends.

EDIT: You probably want deeper water dishes for the crabs to completely submerge in and also you probably want to remove the sponge, as it does little help to humidity and one of the only things it does is trap a ton of harmful bacteria, making it dangerous for your crab and hard to clean thoroughly.

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this isnt really helpful but its so cute

asiankanye wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 20, 2020 9:48 pm

Hi, your setup looks great! One thing I would say is that the eco earth looks a bit dry. You should not worry about it’s friends eating each other, as this rarely happens on the occasions that one crab is molting and a larger crab digs it up. If you are feeding all the right nutrients then you should have no problem. I 100% recommend getting it some friends.

EDIT: You probably want deeper water dishes for the crabs to completely submerge in and also you probably want to remove the sponge, as it does little help to humidity and one of the only things it does is trap a ton of harmful bacteria, making it dangerous for your crab and hard to clean thoroughly.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you so much! i did pour some water on one side of the tank after the pictures ^^ ill remove the sponge too, i might buy some sphagnum moss too to carpet a corner or something.

crabish wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 20, 2020 9:54 pm

this isnt really helpful but its so cute

awe thanks! ❤❤❤❤