HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hey there everyone! Sorry to be a pest with all the questions, but >shocker< I have another one!

I have 10 crabs in a 40 gal aquarium (upgrade in size planned for as soon as I can afford it).

I have consistently seen 7 of them (the same 7) for the last several nights (the next morning when I check my recordings).

They all disappear during the day. I think most, if not all of them hang out in the moss pit. (it's a shower basked buried in the substrate with a moss covered lizard hide over it.

I'm concerned that I need to get in there and make sure there is no mold or other issues, and 'turn' and refresh the moss - but they're all in there!

Do you think they will be ok if I go ahead and take care of it? Or should I try to stay up and do it when most are out and about?

I'm also thinking of moving it from ground level to attached to the side (since I just read about the molding problem if the moss mixes with the substrate), so I would do that at the same time as the refresh.

Opinions? I'd really rather not stay up until 3am if possible lol

thanks so much!

I am not an expert, but I dont think it's an issue if you move them out of the moss pit for cleaning. They aren't molting there, which from what I know is the only time not to disturb them

I agree with PhillyCrabbie. They’re probably just hiding. A bit of disturbance for maintenance won’t harm them.


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I would be careful. My crabs like to molt in my moss pit. If I were you, I would wait for nighttime to see how many crabs come out of the moss pit on their own- if one or two remain, they're probably just buried, but there's a possibility they are molting. I would pick a day when they all come out on their own to clean out the pit.

avocadocrabbies wrote: ↑

Fri May 29, 2020 8:49 am

I would be careful. My crabs like to molt in my moss pit. If I were you, I would wait for nighttime to see how many crabs come out of the moss pit on their own- if one or two remain, they're probably just buried, but there's a possibility they are molting. I would pick a day when they all come out on their own to clean out the pit.

How deep is your moss pit that they are molting in there? I never considered that

My moss pit is about 4-5 inches deep. When I was setting it up, I didn't think any crabs would molt in there, the moss was mostly meant as a snack- but hey, whatever suits their fancies haha

Also, even if your moss pit isn't that deep, you should still consider the possibility that crabs might be molting in there. I've had crabs bury themselves really lightly under stuff to molt, not even deep in the sand but in air pockets underneath decor and stuff. Crabs are weird lol