Day 2 and Witnessed Shell Swapping!

[Amaggiepie]

I am so excited! I got my crabitat set up correctly yesterday and added 2 new crabbies since one of our original ones from the beach died. One of them dug under right away so I just have 2 active now. Tonight I boiled 5 shells and dipped them in salt water and added them to the tank. I have an order of 24 Mexican Turbos on the way so these are all I have for now.

The coolest part is one of the shells I grabbed on a gut feeling at the store yesterday even tho it was ugly gray and looked like a rock...but the turbo shape and opening looked crabby. When I boiled it, it turned out to be a beautiful black and white turbo with a super shiny iridescent inside!!!

As soon as I put the shells in, Poppy swapped her painted pink shell for the black and white one and I watched!! It was so cool!! I called my kids in to see and that quick she decided to change back into her painted shell and they saw her swap back. Sad I didnt get the shell out but it was cool for them to see the swap.

When I came back into the room one of the new crabs Cutie Pie had swapped his pearly turbo for the black and white one. He seems content in there still. Last I checked Poppy was checking out his old shell. Feeling validated that everyone liked the shell I picked out.

I seriously cant wait for my order of shells to arrive! Its so fun to watch them swap!

[LadyJinglyJones]

Ooh, congrats!

Sounds like you bought a magpie, or Cittarium pica shell - in their wild native range, these are favored by PPs... though many crabs prefer turbos in captivity. They're often lighter.

[Amaggiepie]

Youre so right!!! Im still learning all the shells...the shell guide is down still. I looked it up and thats the exact shell I have.

The crab that grabbed the magpie dug in yesterday so now I just have one on the surface. Hoping its a good sogn these crabs are healthy and will make it!

[GotButterflies]

So glad you got see a shell change They love freshly cleaned shells!

[LadyJinglyJones]

Oh, that's right! I forgot about the pictures being broken!

The online store Naples has hermit shells for sale with pictures & names. If you're looking for one, you might check there.