Fiddlers or other crabs with hermits?

[The Franckinator]

Are there any land hermit crabs that can safely live with hermit crabs? Further, what animals besides other crabs have you found go well with hermits - isopods, etc

[GotButterflies]

Are there any land hermit crabs that can safely live with hermit crabs? Further, what animals besides other crabs have you found go well with hermits - isopods, etc

As far as I'm aware, hermit crabs can only be housed with isopods. Isopods can be their clean up crew, or a treat if the crabs are wise enough to catch them. Hermit crabs cannot be kept with any other crabs to my knowledge.


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[Just Jay]

im so glad you asked this question. i want to add ispos but havent found any (lol such an odd thing to say). also i have really been thinking about maybe updating my salt water pool to maybe include a bubbler and some typle of shrimp? i first thought about doing saltwater hermit crabs but the reptile specialist at work mentioned how they could fight over space and shells. so im thinking maybe small shrimp for my hermies have another food source.

[GotButterflies]

I purchased my isopods from isopod connection ~ I'm currently breeding them! They are doing great! I can't wait to add them to the tank. As far as saltwater shrimp, Msw has to be cycled before you can add living creatures. Same with fw. That has to be cycled too. Otherwise the living creatures you add to the water will die. Please don't do that. Cycling takes time, and requires a filter, not just a bubbler.


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[The Franckinator]

I agree. I don't think it would be a good idea to add living creatures to your crabs' drinking bowls. And for the isopods, make sure you read about how to care for them here: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... hp?t=92538

Btw, someone on this website made a thread a while back about their marine hermit crabs that they have. This person set up a filtration system in the land hermit crabs' tank as a big pool for the marine hermits to live in. So it is possible to have marine creatures in a terrarium, but you need a lot of experience and materials.

[Just Jay]

I purchased my isopods from isopod connection ~ I'm currently breeding them! They are doing great! I can't wait to add them to the tank. As far as saltwater shrimp, Msw has to be cycled before you can add living creatures. Same with fw. That has to be cycled too. Otherwise the living creatures you add to the water will die. Please don't do that. Cycling takes time, and requires a filter, not just a bubbler.


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Thanks for the tip but ive had aquariums before [including shrimp and crawfish] so im aware of the work. To my understanding tho SW is for them to maintain mineral levels in there shell. Along with maintaining there exo health not for them to ingest. Is that wrong? Also ive seen other tanks [three to be exact that seemed well set up and the crabs well cared for] that had ten gallon saltwater tanks inside their land hermit tank. The one i was most interested in had put lvls in the tank so the land hermits could submerge down to the middle of the tank without the shrimp being able to bother them. Definitely don't want to do anything that could harm any animal involved even if the shrimp are for food.

Thanks for the link on iso care!

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[The Franckinator]

If you feel confident that you can make a safe setup, then I would make a post and ask for tips on it if I were you. I don't have any experience with that, so you should post in Crabitat Conditions if you do that

[Just Jay]

Thanks. Still just fact building and getting other crabbers opinions at this point. Always better safe than sorry

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[GotButterflies]

I purchased my isopods from isopod connection ~ I'm currently breeding them! They are doing great! I can't wait to add them to the tank. As far as saltwater shrimp, Msw has to be cycled before you can add living creatures. Same with fw. That has to be cycled too. Otherwise the living creatures you add to the water will die. Please don't do that. Cycling takes time, and requires a filter, not just a bubbler.


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Thanks for the tip but ive had aquariums before [including shrimp and crawfish] so im aware of the work. To my understanding tho SW is for them to maintain mineral levels in there shell. Along with maintaining there exo health not for them to ingest. Is that wrong? Also ive seen other tanks [three to be exact that seemed well set up and the crabs well cared for] that had ten gallon saltwater tanks inside their land hermit tank. The one i was most interested in had put lvls in the tank so the land hermits could submerge down to the middle of the tank without the shrimp being able to bother them. Definitely don't want to do anything that could harm any animal involved even if the shrimp are for food.

Thanks for the link on iso care!

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I don't think the shrimp would harm them, but the crabs might eat them! As long as you are aware about keeping aquariums I don't think that is an issue, however, cycling the water could be. That might be best done outside of the hermit crab tank. My hermit crabs do drink and soak in their saltwater. Good luck! I'd be interested I. Seeing pictures! Make sure your tank is large enough that you don't cut down on the gallons required per crab too


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[aussieJJDude]

Unless you have a large tank, a setup with pools large enough for the aquatic species will not work. If you do have a large enough tank - most reccomend 100g and up, but personally it really just depends on the dimensions. Eg: A tall tank with a footprint of a 55g won't work, due to putting in pools 2.5g plus goes half of the tank space! However a longer tank could potentially work.
I know that you mentioned that you have had prior experience, but have you had experience in SW tanks? (Theres FW species of shrimp available, and many refer to FW crawfish... or like the aussies say: yabbies!) SW tanks are a whole different ball game and if your serious about this investment:
- get a large tank
- visit some of the reef, marine forums and thoroughly understand marine fish/invert keeping
- be prepared to spend over $500-1000 on equipment and such to support these animal. (TIP: buy equipment that you know will last, aka research beforehand so you don't spend more trying to upgrade a piece of junk that will fail on you!)
- be prepared for ongoing investment!

I would personally just stick with isopods, especially for a newcomer who hasn't really "handled" the ropes of crabbing. Trust me, to keep crabs successfully often requires time, patience and a bit of research. Increasing complexity of a difficult task - IMO, fish keeping is way easier than crab - by adding more animals to the crabitat sounds like a recipe for things to go wrong and lack of enjoyment if it doesn't turn out.

just my 2 cents, but thats me.

[Just Jay]

Unless you have a large tank, a setup with pools large enough for the aquatic species will not work. If you do have a large enough tank - most reccomend 100g and up, but personally it really just depends on the dimensions. Eg: A tall tank with a footprint of a 55g won't work, due to putting in pools 2.5g plus goes half of the tank space! However a longer tank could potentially work.
I know that you mentioned that you have had prior experience, but have you had experience in SW tanks? (Theres FW species of shrimp available, and many refer to FW crawfish... or like the aussies say: yabbies!) SW tanks are a whole different ball game and if your serious about this investment:
- get a large tank
- visit some of the reef, marine forums and thoroughly understand marine fish/invert keeping
- be prepared to spend over $500-1000 on equipment and such to support these animal. (TIP: buy equipment that you know will last, aka research beforehand so you don't spend more trying to upgrade a piece of junk that will fail on you!)
- be prepared for ongoing investment!

I would personally just stick with isopods, especially for a newcomer who hasn't really "handled" the ropes of crabbing. Trust me, to keep crabs successfully often requires time, patience and a bit of research. Increasing complexity of a difficult task - IMO, fish keeping is way easier than crab - by adding more animals to the crabitat sounds like a recipe for things to go wrong and lack of enjoyment if it doesn't turn out.

just my 2 cents, but thats me.

i do have experience with SW fish tanks. not so much in setting them up tho. i also have done a few other co-tanks (more than one animal/species). one self sustaining brackish water and the other fresh, its actually what got me thinking about it for my crabs. this is on top of working for my local zoo and a pet/garden store. i also have a friend that runs a salt water marine store that has been throwing ideas out. this is all far, far off hopes when i get a larger tank as you suggested; if at all tho. i was just hoping someone else might have given it a go. that way i have a little less trial and error in my way. ive just like the idea of giving them a home as close to their natural habitats in the wild. only if it can be safely done. also the zoo i worked for did have tank with frogs, hermits, snails (both land and aquatic) and isos. i can only remember for (almost lol) sure one species of frog were green tree frogs. again all ideas for future crab updates. i just like to look at all possibilities for crab enrichment/health benefits/my own enjoyment or ease in care without lack of care. sometimes its too far reaching; other times with a little hard work it comes out amazing! thank you again for your input

(the tank at the zoo is also large enough for me to stand in almost fully up right. im 5'8-5'9 feet tall as well if that gives you a size. it was shaped like a cylinder)

[aussieJJDude]

The tank with the frogs, hermies, snails and iso's... I can imagine that one of the speices isn't happy...
- Frog/snails are happy, hermies are not - not salt water
- hermies are happy, frogs/snail are not - salt water

The most important thing is having a multi species tank is that all requirements are met and that the the requirement of one species doesn't have a negative impact for another. Hermit crabs can be hard to keep in a multi species tank. They require numerous "micro-climates" to thrive, which doesn't suit a lot of other species. the only thing I would reccomend with is to keep them with animals that can't escape easily - aka: fish... They won't go from the marine to fresh or require high humidity levels. However, like mentioned they require space in their own right, and one has to thoroughly understand how to keep each species seperate before combining them together.

I'm very curious to hear about the self sustaining brackish and fresh water tanks, since I've never met somebody that has done so successfully! Close to yes, but never 100% self sustaining. Even then, they skimp on things such as water changes, which causes more health problems for the species inside.

Someone from a few years ago kept FW fish, anoles and hermies together... Supposedly successfully. The tank was rather large - 75g; off memory had a low stocking level of crabs - for that size tank... However had a number of faults. The FW section was way under 10g, and had many species of tetras... Which require large schools and large tank spaces...

Trust me when I say this... and don't take it the wrong way. Crabs don't need enrichment from different fauna besides species buddies. They couldn't care less if you have PP's with straws, fish, frog or a turtle... And adding totally different species of animals together isn't going to decrease maintainence, rather increase care and complexity of the crabitat. Which means more time needed to be spent on the tank, so you must also have a bit of spare time, money or a combo of the above.

[Just Jay]

The tank with the frogs, hermies, snails and iso's... I can imagine that one of the speices isn't happy...
- Frog/snails are happy, hermies are not - not salt water
- hermies are happy, frogs/snail are not - salt water

The most important thing is having a multi species tank is that all requirements are met and that the the requirement of one species doesn't have a negative impact for another. Hermit crabs can be hard to keep in a multi species tank. They require numerous "micro-climates" to thrive, which doesn't suit a lot of other species. the only thing I would reccomend with is to keep them with animals that can't escape easily - aka: fish... They won't go from the marine to fresh or require high humidity levels. However, like mentioned they require space in their own right, and one has to thoroughly understand how to keep each species seperate before combining them together.

I'm very curious to hear about the self sustaining brackish and fresh water tanks, since I've never met somebody that has done so successfully! Close to yes, but never 100% self sustaining. Even then, they skimp on things such as water changes, which causes more health problems for the species inside.

Someone from a few years ago kept FW fish, anoles and hermies together... Supposedly successfully. The tank was rather large - 75g; off memory had a low stocking level of crabs - for that size tank... However had a number of faults. The FW section was way under 10g, and had many species of tetras... Which require large schools and large tank spaces...

Trust me when I say this... and don't take it the wrong way. Crabs don't need enrichment from different fauna besides species buddies. They couldn't care less if you have PP's with straws, fish, frog or a turtle... And adding totally different species of animals together isn't going to decrease maintainence, rather increase care and complexity of the crabitat. Which means more time needed to be spent on the tank, so you must also have a bit of spare time, money or a combo of the above.

all very very true. just getting the self sustaining tanks up and...well sustaining took so much time. sadly the fresh water tank also did not last in the end (while i have no proof im a certain as i can be she wasnt doing water changes or taking any of their levels). to my knowledge the brackish tank is still going. i did that one with my ap bio teacher. and it took us about two years to get up and running. once it was tho it did great! we originally didnt have any animals in the tank but last year she mentioned adding two frogs to see how stable the environment is. as far as the classroom zoo tank goes i wasnt in charge of care but they seemed happy and thriving. i do know the hermits would on occasion eat the snails and or take their homes. the frogs would also eat the young/smaller snails. i assumed the snails were for a food source. so i guess the snails werent so happy about that after all. all of these tanks were 100g or more. so im sure the scale helps. just from what i know about anoles i honestly have no idea how they did that.....they are very territorial and aggressive. i guess with enough care and work anything can be done.....

[Lothlorien]

So to sum it up one can not have like ruggies og PP together in one tank?

Edit; yes I am aware this is an old thread, I'm using the search function so that I wont make alot of threads on subjects that are already discussed. (Even tho that happens and will happen again )

[PinchersAndShells]

So to sum it up one can not have like ruggies og PP together in one tank?

Edit; yes I am aware this is an old thread, I'm using the search function so that I wont make alot of threads on subjects that are already discussed. (Even tho that happens and will happen again )

No, that's a subspecies of hermit crab. All kinds of land hermits can go together. This thread is asking about the other kinds of crabs that look drastically different and don't have shells. OP was talking about this kind of crab:


Edit - I meant no as in you can have ruggies and PPs together, sorry if that was confusing.