HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi, I'm super new to this, but I've done a ton of research on hermit crabs and I felt like confident I could do everything "to the book" for these little creatures..so I picked up 2 in May and it was going pretty good I thought, but yesterday when I was cleaning up the tank I noticed 1 of my 2 crabs was out of hiding and sitting there so I picked him up and he was very stiff and I noticed a little smell not too bad but a bit "fishy".. Thinking he was maybe starting to molt or some thing I put him back and finished what I was doing. a few hours later I noticed he still didn't move so I picked him up again and he was exactly the same as before didn't curl into his shell or anything, the same smell was there but not worse.

This morning he still hadn't moved and looks pretty limp.. so I'm pretty certain he's dead.. :'(

Now, I have my tank set for just under 80 F and the humidity is always between 70 and 80%. I always used dechlorinated water for them and I didn't give them the little pellets i gave them fruit and veg from the approved lists and sometimes egg shells and tuna. So in that I feel I was doing the right thing.. I was having trouble with mold for a while but I read the green was okay for them but not black and I'm unsure about the white mold.. I cleaned it out every day but with the heat and moisture it was pretty relentless.. I bought a coconut house and some drift wood to replace the things that seemed to be the worst for the mold and I thought I took care of them problem for the most part. That was a few weeks ago now..

I'm wondering if you guys think that was the problem? Also, now I only have 1 crab and he's burrowed down in the sub and I cant seem to find him I wont dig him up or anything so I assume that's where he is.. my second question is do I get him a new buddy will they gladiator fight to the death will this new one get sick and die too? Should I wait for him to come up from being burrowed before introducing a new crab?

New crabs sometimes have injuries that we can’t see so new crabs dying aren’t always a red flag. A bit of mold wouldn’t kill a healthy crab so I doubt that’s the case.

As for getting another crab, that’s up to you. Being a singleton isn’t the end of the world but there shouldn’t be any conflict if all crabs are dipped in the freshwater so they smell similar.


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I would definitely not add another crab while the one you have is down probably molting. Hermit crabs are cannibals and a molting crab is a vulnerable snack.

DragonsFly wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 19, 2021 6:23 pm

I would definitely not add another crab while the one you have is down probably molting. Hermit crabs are cannibals and a molting crab is a vulnerable snack.

In an ideal tank and provided that there's enough space for new crabs (and the size of crab added isn't too big for the tank.... refer to the care guide of stocking a tank) this risk is so low it's basically negligible and is no different to having multiple hermit crabs in a single tank at a time.

Ideal tank.