New and need advice for beginner crabitat

[Oksness]

Hi all! We are new to crabbing and loving it so far. We started about 6 months ago with a pair and got one more in November for a total of 3 crabs. About 2 months ago they moved from their small souvenir shop traveling bin to a larger but still small 2 gallon tank. They loved it relatively to where they had been but I want to go bigger and better. I’m all in with crabbing, I love it! My question for all of you, what size and shape tank is the best for a crabitat? We have three crabs at this time but plan to add to the family.

[Motörcrab]

Hello and welcome to the HCA! The easiest answer to how big is to get the biggest tank you can afford and space will allow! Having a square or rectangle shaped crabitat will be a lot easier for attaching heaters to the side and getting a lid as well!

From my experience with crabs I would not go with anything under a 29 gallon. That allows enough room for substrate, climbing, foods and waters. It can easily house 4-6 crabs based on size.

I have seen a lot of people start off with a wire cage or critter keeper then go to a 10 or 20 gallon, then a 40 followed by a 55 or 75 gallon in a year or two.

In the mean time check out out or care sheets, there is one for setting up a proper crabitat with a list of supplies and other information. There is a lot of information that is often overlooked in them. If you have any more questions please ask! Welcome again!

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[hermitsrus1966]

I agree with Motocrab. Tanks can be really expensive, but I personally would recommend a 29 gallon to 40 gallon at least. You can look for tanks on craigslist, facebook marketplace, etc. You can really find good steals on those websites or any other second hand store kinda thing, you can also look out for Petcos dollar per gallon sale, thats great too. For your case if you really wanna go all in I would get a 40 gallon because it offers so much more room to be creative and offer them room, not to mention if you are anything like me you will end up adopting or getting more crabs even though you aren't even looking meaning you would have a little extra room to take in a crab. The bigger the tank I think the better but for the amount of crabs you have you could get away with a 29 gallon. Again it depends on budget etc. Also decorating tips I used to just look up on google "crabitats" and look at all the photos you can get lots of ideas! Also there is a pictures section and all about crabitats on this website, you can get ideas doing that too. I hope this is helpful, and sorry if it wasnt lol.