Is it safe to add more sand/substrate with crabs down?

[HermieCrabs]

I've got two crabs under right now (only for 1-2 weeks so far) and a third that is getting ready to go down (eating a lot, especially cuttlebone and greensand). I had been planning to add more sand to their substrate and mix it in well, but that's obviously not an option right now.

Is it safe to add sand to the top of the layer, when I have crabs down? Will I crush their hiding spaces? Or should I just wait until they are all above ground, whenever that will be. Any advice/experience would be much appreciated. Thank you!

[CrabbyLover77]

I've got two crabs under right now (only for 1-2 weeks so far) and a third that is getting ready to go down (eating a lot, especially cuttlebone and greensand). I had been planning to add more sand to their substrate and mix it in well, but that's obviously not an option right now.

Is it safe to add sand to the top of the layer, when I have crabs down? Will I crush their hiding spaces? Or should I just wait until they are all above ground, whenever that will be. Any advice/experience would be much appreciated. Thank you!

It's ok to add 1" of substrate every 24 hours. Just do not pat it down. Also, don't remove any large decor in the sand that could be holding up tunnels/caves. Just add the substrate around it.

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[HermieCrabs]

Thank you! I will be very cautious and maybe only add a small layer over a few days. I had been meaning to add more before they went down - we had started out at five-six inches but as they started living in the tank it seemed like I needed to add more. They're small crabs so I think they have enough for this molting, but I wanted to err on the side of caution!