Returning with some questions!

[Nakkida]

Hey again guys! It's been about 2 months since I completely redid my 10 gallon setup for a single crab who lost his entire left side (big claw and 2 legs). He dug down in his new tank about a week later and I have done quite a bit of researching and improving since then!

For starters, I got him some buddies! First it was just two, and I set them up in a smaller isolation tank because I was afraid they might disturb my injured little friend while he molted. One of the two dug down immediately for a molt and the other sat inactive on the surface for some time and I was worried it might be too stressed out to make it through.

...But then I set up a 20 gallon tall tank and got 4 more crabs!

I put the new arrivals in the large tank and they all changed shells, dug down, and I have only seen them a few times since. I also took this chance to put my inactive crab in the large tank and he perked up for a day or two and was the first to dig down out of the 5 in that tank.

So now I have 1 crab in my 10 gallon, 1 crab in an isolation tank, and 5 crabs in a 20 gallon. The crab in isolation finally came up and has been eating and drinking for about a week now. My question is, which tank should he go to? I want to put him in the 10 gallon but I'm not sure if I should wait until my single crab comes up from his molt. He's been down for 2 months. If I put him in the 20 gallon I'm afraid he'll disturb the other crabs as well. I hate to keep him isolated because the tank is small and a bit boring for him.

What do you guys think? I'm definitely still learning so please let me know your opinions!

[Lburns]

My opinion is to put him in the tank that you ultimately want him to stay in. Is your goal to eventually have just one tank (+ a small ISO)?

Here is a guide that tells you how many crabs can be in different tank sizes based on the crabs sizes:
http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 25&t=92541

As long as you're sure your conditions are correct in both the 10 gallon and the 20 gallon he should do fine in either. IMO, the two most important factors to ensure that the crabs don't harm each other are the substrate depth (6-8 inches depending on the size of your largest crab), and protein (make sure you are rotating out a wide variety of options). As long as each crab has sufficient space to dig there shouldn't be any issues of the running into each other. The varied protein helps ensure they won't become cannibals.

I say put him where you ultimately want him to be because constant changes and switching tanks could be stressful for him.

Hope all goes well!!

[Nakkida]

Thanks for the reply!

My goal is to keep all 3 tanks. I originally wanted to have 3 crabs in the 10 gallon, adding the two new ones to the tank once my old crab came out from his molt safely. But then I came into possession of the 20 gallon and I had all the supplies to set up another, so I really couldn't resist. Now that one of the two I was planning to put in the 10 gallon is molting in the 20, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I guess I was just afraid to introduce a new crab while I had others buried!

They're all small/medium crabs so I've got no problems with space right now, and their diet is varied with stuff from the hermit crab patch, a mix I made from organic foods, and fresh fruits/veggies.
I'm thinking I will add him to the 10 gallon to be buddies with my old crab.

[Lburns]

Sounds good. Hope he's doing well!