We decided to get crabs!

[vampkat]

That's a topic I'd normally only use in the sense of eating, but hey, things change! My daughter (17, special needs) has been lamenting what to do with two 20 gallon tanks since she's not interested in fish any longer. I looked through the options and came across hermit crabs, and she has gotten rather excited. I told her we would research, get the cage 100% sorted, and then when we knew we were ready, get three small/medium hermies and go from there! So I guess my first question is aside from adoptions, are there any reputable places to buy them from? Also, I'm a crafty person, I just finished making a really nice moist hide for our leopard gecko, and was wondering if I could make a double pool out of apoxy. (link here https://smile.amazon.com/Apoxie-Sculpt- ... words=apox) I'm really just hoping to make a fun tank that has all the things they need and more they want!

[aussieJJDude]

Hey, just letting you know that fish can be a lot more interactive than crabs. Since crabs are nocturnal you often don't see them alot during the day, plus when they moult they can often be gone weeks/months at a time. (I'd thought to put it out there, just in case. )

Now thats out of the way! Welcome!

The apoxy looks fine to me, but I'll let others chime in and see there thoughts.

Not a lot of stores sell crabs in good condition, so many would encourage to either pick out the healthiest or just put up an ad online and adopt - and giving more crabs a better home.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[vampkat]

It wasn't the lack of interaction, it was the cycling and dying that ruined it. I think the crabs will be a lot more interesting since as long as they are properly cared for they are long lived. I also think she'll enjoy seeing them climbing to and fro and such.

[soilentgringa]

It wasn't the lack of interaction, it was the cycling and dying that ruined it. I think the crabs will be a lot more interesting since as long as they are properly cared for they are long lived. I also think she'll enjoy seeing them climbing to and fro and such.

Crabs have a disproportionately high death to survival rate, even with amazing care.

While I haven't had any losses in the last year or so, we have had several not survive due to prior injury, illness, stress or other unknown causes.

I'm not saying this to discourage you but hermit crabs don't really have much more of a survival rate than fish IMO.

I don't even know how many we've lost but we've had over 90 come through in the last 3, going on 4, years now. At one point there were tanks all over my apartment.

We were given a 60 gallon with a stand once and what was supposed to be a dozen hermits. All of them were DOA.

Sent from my LGMS550 using Tapatalk

[vampkat]

It wasn't the lack of interaction, it was the cycling and dying that ruined it. I think the crabs will be a lot more interesting since as long as they are properly cared for they are long lived. I also think she'll enjoy seeing them climbing to and fro and such.

Crabs have a disproportionately high death to survival rate, even with amazing care.

While I haven't had any losses in the last year or so, we have had several not survive due to prior injury, illness, stress or other unknown causes.

I'm not saying this to discourage you but hermit crabs don't really have much more of a survival rate than fish IMO.

I don't even know how many we've lost but we've had over 90 come through in the last 3, going on 4, years now. At one point there were tanks all over my apartment.

We were given a 60 gallon with a stand once and what was supposed to be a dozen hermits. All of them were DOA.

Sent from my LGMS550 using Tapatalk

Yikes, really? That sounds awful.

[aussieJJDude]

Its very much russian roulette. I do find if they survive past the first year under your care they are 'long lived' and relatively hardy.

Thats why we reccomend adopting whenever possible, cause sometimes adoptions come from previous owners that use sites like HCA and have well cared, captivity-adjusted crabs which you start out on the right foot.


Sorry that we nit-picking everything, but unfortunately a lot of 'hermit crab info' out there fails to explain much of their basic needs and behaviours. I will say that they are extremely rewarding, and will be a great experience of your family in looking at something as unique as a hermit crab, which many term them as 'living prehistoric creatures'.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[vampkat]

Oh no, I'd MUCH rather have that info, it helps make an educated decision. My problem with the fish were no matter how many water changes and such we made, our tank cycle would always crash and we'd end up with dead fish. It was always so frustrating. It sounds like if I get a good couple of crabs and their care is good, they should actually survive for longer than a few months, which sounds great! Ironically the longest living fish we have are two goldfish my daughter rescued from our turtle (before I found out they aren't good for turtles, go figure). They are relatively large and the two of them share a 40 gallon breeder tank. I do hope once we've got the tank properly set up we'll be able to adopt from here. I know pet store hermies are pretty unhealthy and typically don't live long.

[soilentgringa]

Oh yeah goldfish are ridiculous A friend won some at a Japanese festival in 2014 and ended up giving the two that survived to my son.

Ponyo and Sosuke are very happy in their tank, destroy any live plants we attempt to put in with them, and are piggies for their sinking pellets.

They're 4X as large as they were initially and they are still swimmin'.

Sent from my LGMS550 using Tapatalk

[vampkat]

HAHAA! yeah, they are hardly little buggers. They destroy decorations for fun, I swear!

[aussieJJDude]

Sidenote: if your ever looking for goldfish proof plants, stick with anubias (basically the living plastic plant)... these things are virtually indestructible. Or fast growing plants like Vallisneria (I'd recommend jungle val), also had great success with amazon frogbit and ludwigia repens x l. arcuata... Its also a idea to increase success with goldies is to feed a high vegetative diet - which for the older ones, you should since they slightly more herbivorous - like spinach, peas, blanched carrot/potato/sweet potato and duckweed.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[soilentgringa]

Sidenote: if your ever looking for goldfish proof plants, stick with anubias (basically the living plastic plant)... these things are virtually indestructible. Or fast growing plants like Vallisneria (I'd recommend jungle val), also had great success with amazon frogbit and ludwigia repens x l. arcuata... Its also a idea to increase success with goldies is to feed a high vegetative diet - which for the older ones, you should since they slightly more herbivorous - like spinach, peas, blanched carrot/potato/sweet potato and duckweed.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Thanks for the info JJ!

Sent from my LGMS550 using Tapatalk

[vampkat]

I had two different anubis (short and tall). They beat them up and ate them. Yup. ATE THEM to death.