To mix, or not to mix?

[bandaidstealer]

To mix, or not to mix? That is the question—Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of separated substrate, Or to take arms against a sea of hermit crabs, And, by mixing, end them?

Currently my tank's substrate is separated, sand on one side and coconut fiber on the other. We set the tank up pretty quickly since we inherited the hermit crabs unexpectedly (the previous owner was going to throw them in a dumpster). Is it better to leave the substrate separated so I don't disturb the hermit crabs (neither are currently molting, but I am not sure they are completely settled in yet), or is it better to take everything out and mix the substrate together?

[Motörcrab]

I think it will be just fine to have both substrates unmixed as long as the sand is sandcastle consistency and the coco fiber is damp. Over time the crabs will mix it from digging anyway. You could easily pull out everything and mix it around with by hand in the tank to get the crabs started.

Way to go saving those poor guys. If they were a puppies, kittens, or a baby people would be loosing their minds. With any smaller animals it's perfectly fine to do so. Animal abuse is animal no matter if it's a horse, dog, cat, goldfish, hermit crab period.