HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hey, i have a 40 gallon breeder in my room with 8 crabs at the moment. I was wondering if I could put some preferably big and lush plants in my tank. I don't mind if my crabs destroy them. I was thinking something like basil. Thoughts?

Idk about basil but some crabbers like to use air plants in their tanks. The crabs can eat them and they do well in the humid conditions...or so I hear. Also u can plant chia seeds right in your sub for crabbies to munch

Not sure either, but I would love to have some plants in my tank.
My LFS sells these partially, or non aquatic plants that you can use in terrariums, might have to check these out!

Hiya - if you type 'plants' into the search bar you can see the many plant threads we've had recently.

Off the top of my head, pothos is a popular suggestion.

Just remember that plants need to be planted in containers in the tat, and that fertilizers used by your average florist's are thought be be not great for crabs, so you want to transplant the plants to home-made soil & give 'em aboot three months before adding to your crab cage.

Ask the pet shop how their plants are grown to find out if they're crab safe.

LadyJinglyJones wrote:Hiya - if you type 'plants' into the search bar you can see the many plant threads we've had recently.

Off the top of my head, pothos is a popular suggestion.

Just remember that plants need to be planted in containers in the tat, and that fertilizers used by your average florist's are thought be be not great for crabs, so you want to transplant the plants to home-made soil & give 'em aboot three months before adding to your crab cage.

Ask the pet shop how their plants are grown to find out if they're crab safe.

Why do they need to be in a container? Can't a rooted stem just be stuck into the substrate?

Why not just use plastic plants ? Having plants grow in the substrate may cause a variety of problems. Also the crabs might snack on the plants and kill them. They wont eat plastic plants. I guess if you really want to provide them with living plants you could look up information about the botany from where they originate. Still there is not a lot of information about what plants the crabs will or will not take

You cant be watering the sub - you may end up with flooding. Things like Chia are okay, but bigger plants need more water than just 'sand castle consistency ' sub will provide. Plus, some plants roots may take up a lot of moulting space that the crabs need.

Richard wrote:Why not just use plastic plants ? Having plants grow in the substrate may cause a variety of problems. Also the crabs might snack on the plants and kill them. They wont eat plastic plants. I guess if you really want to provide them with living plants you could look up information about the botany from where they originate. Still there is not a lot of information about what plants the crabs will or will not take

I understand the reasons to use plastic plants and I do use them but I feel bad that they're looking for real plants to climb, eat and hide among but they end up with plastic. I guess everything about their life in captivity is sad.