HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I am a new hermit crab mom of two weeks. When we were in Florida the kids found some hermit crabs on the beach and wanted to bring them home I made them return them and told them we would get some from One of the beach shops. We ended up getting two hermit crabs That were in painted shells and brought them home. Once home I did some research on them and set up a 10 gallon tank with a heater pad on the back and a humidity and temperature gage . I also bought some new Natural shells which they immediately switch to. The smallest one immediately buried itself the next day and I haven’t seen it since. The larger one has been up and about and is fairly active. As of right now I only have about 4 inches of Sand and I know I need to add more but I’m worried about the one that’s buried. I feel like I need to clean out the freshwater and saltwater pools but I don’t know how to do that while one is buried. Also I have no idea how to tell what kind my hermit crabs are.

Hi! Welcome! It's great you did research so soon. You can add 1" of substrate every 24hrs if a crab is buried. As long as you don't pack it down. Many of us "double" the pools just for that reason. That way the bottom pool holds the shape in case there's a crab underneath. And to be honest, if you can get a larger tank it would be better. The crabs will grow as time goes on. And bigger is always better. Easier to fit all they need and still have space. You can find a good deal on tanks on craigslist. Or the apps LetGo or OfferUp. You can upload pics here on the app Tapatalk. So if you can take a pic of the one topside we can see what type of crab it is. And cudos to you for not taking home the wild crabs you found on the beach. Some people do. And if you haven't already, remove the painted shells before they end up possibly going back to them.

Thank u for your reply. I have been keeping my eye out for a 20 gallon and will move up soon. I assume my small crab is molting and don’t want to disturb him.


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Hello Welcome to the HCA! You have a Purple Pincher. Please check out the care guides in the forum section. We are here if you have any questions for us! Welcome to the addicting world of crabbing!

Just wanted to welcome you and say that your crab picked a very pretty shell! You will find everything you need to know on this site....I’m still learning too!

Thank you so much. So glad I found this website and I’m already obsessed with my little crabs. I think my husband is already worried lol. I want to set up a bigger tank soon.


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Amlesa wrote:Thank you so much. So glad I found this website and I’m already obsessed with my little crabs. I think my husband is already worried lol. I want to set up a bigger tank soon.


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We brought ours home with NO knowledge except the crap the store told us...even then we DID immediately get a 10 gallon tank to get them out of the critter cage...then I began researching and found this site....I was overwhelmed with everything! I then immediately wanted a larger tank haha! It just so happened Petco had their $1 gallon sale so my son bought me a 29 gallon long.....this is where my 4 currently reside until I set up the 55 I found someone selling LOL. It’s DEFINITELY become an addiction and my husband makes fun of me all the time

I didn’t have much knowledge. But on the 10 hour drive home from the beach i did a lot of research and knew we needed to get them switched over as soon as possible. I couldn’t wait to set up their new home and was so excited when they switched into their new shells! It was like Christmas morning. Lol the kids are Still interested but they are definitely my pets now. I really hope the little one comes back up soon since he buried right after he changed shells. I felt horrible for all the hermits at the beach shops we visited, their was dead crabs laying everywhere. Hoping I give mine a better life and they thrive.


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We started out with 2 for my son from a beach shop...they, unfortunately, didn’t make it but so far the ones we got after are seeming to do quite well! I’m sure the one that has buried is just taking some time to destress and get used to everything. Mine did the same!