HCA: Hermit Crab Association

After two months of research and a ton of money preparing I finally got my first crabs! Unfortunately I already know my 20 gal is to small for my crab dreams. I went to my local petsmart and I was actually amazed by the knowledge that the staff had who helped me, they even made sure to ask me if my habitat was ready and stuff about it (even though theirs kinda sucked but I'm assuming its corporate rules). I have one PP for sure and I think the other one is a PP as well. It's not quite as purple as the other but I was trying to get species mates. My first PP is super active and as soon as I put him in the tank he explored for a minute, ate some apple and is now just hanging out. My other crab hasn't really moved and I accidentally dropped him when putting him in (my daughter ran up and bumped me). I picked him up right after to make sure he was ok and he seemed like he was but he didn't really move before hand. I hope I didn't buy a dead crab.
Anyways, I'm super excited and had to share. I haven't named them yet, nothing good has come to mind.

Congrats! Can you get pictures? We'd love to see them. I hope your little fellow will be okay. Many crabs survive drops.

I was questioning the one I dropped. I think I may have purchased a dead crab. I picked him up and he smells kinda fishy


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Your setup looks GREAT! The crab you are concerned about smells clearly fishy it's gone. I'm sorry. I don't know what the guarantee is where you bought it, maybe you can take it back.

they will take them back within 2 weeks of purchase. PPS is very common with store bought crabs, unfortunately. Even if your set up is perfect, its the stress of getting plucked off the beach, shipped to the store and living in usually not so great set ups there, takes its toll. All you can do is be prepared, and it looks like you did awesome with that aspect! Your set up looks great! Way to research and have everything ready! Welcome to the obsession that is crabs!

So my Crab that is definitely alive is now hiding behind the plant and has dug himself a small hole. Do you think that means he is going to go down and molt? I'm super excited about them and wonder what they are doing while I am at work. ha ha

New crabs often destress and molt at the same time. My crabs go through periods of inactivity even in between molts. They have their spots, which they often return to day after day too. So, although PPS is a concern with new crabs what you're seeing could mean destressing or pre-molting behavior. Crabs who are going to molt soon will dig all the way down to the bottom of the tank rather than close to the surface. Only time will tell. This hobby does teach patience.

Patience....not a strong quality of mine...ha ha ha

The tank looks great so all of your pre-crab-buying work really paid off! Sorry to hear about the little one you lost but, as others have pointed out, it's so hard to fathom what they've been through before they even get to the pet shop.

I took the dead one back today. It was so sad. My three year old was carrying him into the store in a container asking why he died. On the bright side we got a new very active hermie who has been out exploring. He even got the other crab to come out. I think they did a secret handshake once they recognized each other. They'd only been apart maybe 24 hours. Lol