HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi - so as I posted in the New Crabs/New Owners forum, we rescued a crab a few weeks ago but we're total newbies at this. I've since gotten him into a 29 gallon tank with 5-6" of 5:1 substrate and on Monday, I got a UTH mounted on the back with heat and humidity now at around 80°/80%.

So we last saw Moe last Friday night (5 days ago) when he emerged after having dug himself in for a couple of days. He chowed down on some cheese, reburied himself and hasn't surfaced since. I'm wondering if he's molting now that he's got some decent conditions to live in, but yesterday I noticed some white fuzzy mold directly over where I think he buried himself. I've seen other threads mentioning that the white mold isn't a threat to crabs, but the fact that it seems to be directly over where he buried himself is worrying me a bit. There's no "fishy smell" whatsoever - but I'm wondering if that happens pretty immediately if there is a failed molt or can it take a while for the smell to make it up through the substrate?

I know I'm probably overthinking this whole thing and given his size (on the small side of "medium"), I know if he IS molting, he could be down for a little while. Any ideas on what, if anything, I should do? I'm a little paranoid about scooping anything out to remove the mold since it's directly over where I think he might be buried.

Thanks,
Steph (a somewhat freaking out new-crab-parent)

Here’s a picture.


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It's doubtful he's anywhere near where he went down, they tunnel like mad.

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Well, this guy loves to make a liar out of me. Of course after I posted, he apparently came up overnight and checked out the piece of duck jerky I’d put out and either visited his salt water dish or upended it when he emerged.

I really need to get him deeper water containers but I’m loathe to dig into the substrate to “install” them when I don’t exactly where he is.


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Yeah, I have new water dishes that I want to put in but am in the same boat as you! I was waiting for Sonny to come up, and then Cher went under!
That looks like just surface mold to me, likely from a piece of food they dragged out of the food dish. You should be able to just pinch it off the surface without going too deep to remove it.

I have to say I'm kind of amazed at how well he can cover the hole(s) that he created when he goes under. If it hadn't been for the food being moved out of the dish and the water dish being empty (and the mold being "gone" due to the sand being turned over), I never would have known he was even up and about.

My husband is going to think I'm nuts, but now I kind of want to set up a camera and see if I can catch him moving around at night (since the tank is downstairs).

I think I can see a some of his shell through a small opening he left in the sand, so I might have an idea of where he's actually located. At the very least, I think I can replace the freshwater dish with something deeper.

Do people have any favorite containers they like to use for water? I wasn't sure if a nested pair of medium deli containers would work or if I should go for something a bit sturdier. I was thinking that the round sides would make it easier to add some mesh for him to use to climb in and out.

Many of us have cameras. I have 2 in one tank. How big are your crabs? You want the container to be deep enough for them to submerge.

StephG72 wrote:I have to say I'm kind of amazed at how well he can cover the hole(s) that he created when he goes under. If it hadn't been for the food being moved out of the dish and the water dish being empty (and the mold being "gone" due to the sand being turned over), I never would have known he was even up and about.

My husband is going to think I'm nuts, but now I kind of want to set up a camera and see if I can catch him moving around at night (since the tank is downstairs).

I think I can see a some of his shell through a small opening he left in the sand, so I might have an idea of where he's actually located. At the very least, I think I can replace the freshwater dish with something deeper.

Do people have any favorite containers they like to use for water? I wasn't sure if a nested pair of medium deli containers would work or if I should go for something a bit sturdier. I was thinking that the round sides would make it easier to add some mesh for him to use to climb in and out.

I’m also a pretty new crab mom and I want to put cameras in my tank too. My family does think I’m crazy’s because I’m always fussing over these little guys and buying them new stuff but I don’t care. It has become very addicting. I go downstairs in the middle of the night just to see if I can witness them moving around the tank.


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Many of us use that kind of container for water dishes. Plastic canvas/ craft mesh attached to the sides is a common method of providing a way to climb out.

I am going to order a Wyze Cam next time I go to the US and stay where I can get it shipped for a good price!

Hermiesguardian wrote:Many of us have cameras. I have 2 in one tank. How big are your crabs? You want the container to be deep enough for them to submerge.

Right now, we just have the one crab - I would like to get him some friends but I’m also waiting for him to settle in first. He’s about golf ball size and I now know the water dishes they sold me at the pet store are way too shallow. Since he’s still buried most of the time, I’ve temporarily used some small deli containers so he can get more submerged, but I think I ultimately want to go up another size.

I need to see if I can find the baby monitor camera we used with my youngest...


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curlysister wrote:Many of us use that kind of container for water dishes. Plastic canvas/ craft mesh attached to the sides is a common method of providing a way to climb out.

I am going to order a Wyze Cam next time I go to the US and stay where I can get it shipped for a good price!

I’ve been researching the Wyze Cam’s and am at a stand still on which one to get. Do you have any suggestions?


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I have 3 "360 Home Security Camera Wireless Surveillance" and am real happy with them. I find they are easier to maneuver than the WyzeCam.

Hermiesguardian wrote:I have 3 "360 Home Security Camera Wireless Surveillance" and am real happy with them. I find they are easier to maneuver than the WyzeCam.

Do you have them inside or outside of the tank? I bought one and tried it outside the tank but the light reflected off of the glass and it was hard to see so I put it inside the tank. I’m a little worried about the humidity ruining it though.


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Sillymel wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 06, 2019 3:15 pm

Do you have them inside or outside of the tank? I bought one and tried it outside the tank but the light reflected off of the glass and it was hard to see so I put it inside the tank. I’m a little worried about the humidity ruining it though.


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All my cameras are inside the tanks. I've learned not to put them so close to the bubbler spray, especially the saltwater. I think I've had them for at least a year, no issues. And they're really cheap enough to get a new one every couple of years. Did you get the sd card?