HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I have 4 E's in a 10 gallon tank, they are all tiny/small but planning on moving them to a bigger tank in the near future.

I have read that E's have trouble molting in tanks. I was wondering if anyone has noticed this problem with their E's?

If you have, what did you do about it? How much substrate do you put in with the E's?

I just want to be prepared for a successful molt with these guys. Both my PP's molted successfully in their own tank, and I just want the same for my E's.

Thanks!

I just had my first E come up from a molt! Everything was good except one of his eyes looks different... kinda like one PP eye But anyways, the advice that I got when I took in some E's was to put an extra tablespoon of sea salt into the gallon jug when I mix my salt water and also to try the mineral supplement from the hermit crap patch. The sea salt is supposed to help them get their exos off easier, I think, and the mineral supplement has lots of nutrients that also helps with successful molts. Hope that helps!

I've had several E's molt in a 20 gallon tank. I've got 2 down right now, one for the first time, and one for the second time. I took my other E and put him in a 10 gallon tank because he's a digger and I was afraid he might accidentally come across them while digging around.

Good luck with your E's! I love to watch mine - they are very fun!

I have about 20 Es in a 125gal tank (mixed with pps and 4 straws). I make sure that they always have a calcium suppliment and mineral blend. I haven't had a detrimental molt yet, I've had atleast 5-6 molts with my oldest Es. I've also noticed that they prefer bugs over meats- freeze dried grasshopper or mealworms are a fav. I also add an extra TBSP of salt to their salt water. Humidity is always 80%

I use straight sand- about a foot deep, wet to sand castle consistency with regular dechlorinated water. Some members had blistering occur due to the use of too much salt water being used to moisten the substrate- to prevent mold.