HCA: Hermit Crab Association

So I wrote a whole thing but it somehow went away so just going to cut it to the questions more or less....

Salinity measurements for small batches of water? The easiest way to measure them? Using instant ocean.

Can I offer them zupreem pellets from my parrots since they have relatively the same diet along with the other things?
Do I need to chop or grind their food to bits (mealworms ECT)?
How many chia seeds sprinkled are to many?
Can they have the dried crickets my gecko has sometimes?

Was very mislead on their substrate from the store (imagine that) they have a sand/foxx farms soil mix with the carchapa (not sure of spelling) leaves but we have buried crabs so I don't think disturbing them is the best idea will they be ok? I did add an inch of sand/eco earth for both depth and to combat the soil perhaps. It's sandcastle consistency on both.
Can I leave the sphagnum moss as long as it doesn't mold ( I used to on top as like a crab cleaner pathway for them almost like a sidewalk and to add humidity which hasn't dropped below 79%).

I need to separate because I ended up on a rescue mission while looking for things and ended up with 6 so I assume it's ok to pull a pair whenever they surface and put into another tank? They're in a 20 now (6) I'm going to set-up either another 20 or a 30+ that I have being I don't think the 10 seems enough to me.

I have 2 that I believe aren't the PP I can't remember the name of what they look like but I could be wrong on their type so I plan on keeping those 2 together for sure the others are PP. I can't figure out how to post a picture or I wanted to ask what they were.

I do want to make them bioactive as well they can use the same cleanup crew with a pothos from what I'm gathering just protect the roots?
Would doing a below ground vivarium pond with the mesh and the wading pool style be something doable with the water fountain/pump? It would be freshwater if I did that but not sure if it would be ok for them (would definitely have a ramp to get in and out) I wanted to do this before with toads but it was to much to transfer them and redo everything so wondering if they could enjoy it since it would be humid.

Very new to this just wanting some help cause I've read and searched a ton but some things I haven't found yet for certain.

Ideal saltwater is similar to the ocean, about 1.022–1.025 specific gravity, but they can tolerate anywhere from 1.021–1.028. You can use a refractometer but since hermit crabs aren’t sensitive you can just follow package instructions for preparing (exact measurements are a little overkill)

Zupreem bird pellets won’t hurt them but the vitamin/mineral mix isn’t made for small crustaceans. If offering I would rotate with other items regularly

No need to crush or grind food, they can and will eat mealworms and crickets as is. They have claws and know how to use them

Offer as many chia seeds as they’ll eat

You can add extra substrate as needed so long as you don’t pack it down, you don’t want to collapse any burrows

Sphagnum moss is fine where it is, just note it’s more prone to mold sitting on damp substrate

You can transfer crabs to the new tank as they appear. Moving in groups is optional

Pothos are a popular hermit crab plant. If you keep it in a pot (buried or not) the roots will have some protection from digging crabs. Rocks or mesh on the surface to keep crabs out of the pot will also help

Hermit crabs don’t do well with pumps, they like to dig and any substrate that gets pushed into the water can wreck the fountain


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Welcome to crabbing and to the site! Joe answered your questions, but I just wanted to say to keep things simple if you are just starting out. You will see photos of really fancy, elaborate tank set ups....but many of us have basic tanks, and our crabs do just fine! Be sure to check out the Care Sheets - start with the 'basics' one, and go from there.

Thanks for the welcome and yes the basics are what we have however there's a large benefit to keeping bioactive enclosures for both the critters and myself is y I was asking because I definitely wish I would have built it for the toads before their transfer with the more high end setup.

How long can the salt water be stored? Perhaps making a gallon at a time is easier for the measurements and then it will be ready as I need it. I was worried it would go bad before I used it all but I got beside myself trying to breakdown the measurements to fit just the little jug I use for filling their bowls and rinsing their stuff so been winging it a little on the content.

I read a post about just buying a regular fish and things at the store that was helpful since I was buying krill for both them and my puffer at the pet store for im sure what is a ridiculous price .

Thanks y'all

Saltwater usually lasts a good while, just don’t store it in direct sunlight


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Is the chirping the noise that to me sounds like chewing by the way? I'm pretty sure the ones I got originally are ecuadorians and the unfortunate ones from the PetSmarts are PP by the way. The originals are active ALL the time and basketball king (yes they came in painted shells he's a basketball I refer to him as king I think is going to be his name) lives on the highest point of this moss vine I made a couple himps in the sand with.

I added an extra inch of substrate this evening as I finally decided they're ecuadorians and to keep the others safer who are buried and possibly molting I wanted to be sure they had enough so they didn't get dug up (I read the ecuadorians like to dig up molters). When I added it they were everywhere I changed their water at the same time so they were drinking the new salt water and went to the food and I would assume they're exploring because I added a bit?
The chia seeds sprouted pretty good but I covered them anyway as I can see some sprouting underneath from where they got dug into the substrate so I assume they'll come back.
Tomorrow the ecuadorians are moving to a 40 gallon breeder because I don't feel like they have enough room to move around and have a real upper area to go hence they seem to all want the high spot even though there is a bridge, a platform, and their fake rock hide thing to go on as well. They have closer to 7 inches now I would say. I read on here it was ok to add the inch to the top even if they were molting so I went ahead and did it because now I'm worried about the others especially being the condition especially the one was in when I got it, the others not so bad but not great.

By moving them hopefully the others I can at least notice if they decide to come out or I can see if they move around. Basketball king never has tried to bury even. One of them has changed shells several times today and is ending the night in the original one of the others traded once but they're in original shells now.

How long should I wait until I worry about the buried ones? I don't want to disturb them I know it can take months to come back sometime but I'm not sure any but 1 even ate before they buried.

O when I added the inch the humidity spikes to 99 on one side and 95 on the other. Should I be concerned? I didn't see any signs of ponding water that I'm noticing anyway. Temp is at 75.

That sounds like chirping, or stridulation

Leave the buried ones be for a good bit. I don’t usually start to worry until they’re well past the one month mark

And yeah adding moist substrate can cause the humidity to jump a bit. Give it a couple days and it’ll probably go back down again


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