thinking about mixing species:

scyllarus · Post by **scyllarus** » Thu Jun 03, 2010 5:36 pm

i know a lot of people here don't like the idea of mixing species, since there's a higher chance that one will get bullied to death, but my LPS changed their crab stuff and confronted me with "stop messing with the animals, we know how to keep their habitats and how to feed them." sigh. it's a step backward, too, since now there's about 1/4 inch of dry playsand rather than two inches of playsand/ee mix, the driftwood hideout got replaced by a plastic ivy thing, and there's a sponge taking up the entire water dish.

so now, unless there're crabs to adopt (someone from columbia, sc has posted a request on may 25th?) i'm considering ordering them online, probably from livehermitcrabs.com

so what would do well with six PPs? i've heard Es can get bullied a lot and that straws and violas are a bit fragile...so i'm thinking maybe some ruggies? i've got a 30 gallon setup with two levels, and hopefully my crabs won't get big enough to need a new tank before i graduate college in 3-4 years...

i kind of want to get a 6-pack, partly in case some die, partly so they'll have plenty of species buddies.

CallaLily · Post by **CallaLily** » Thu Jun 03, 2010 5:47 pm

I have PPs and Es together and haven't noticed any problems. In fact they eat, climb, sleep, & swim together often.

I've never kept any other species but I know there are a lot of crabbers who keep aussies separate because of their (possible) different saltwater needs. I think I've read that Indo's are shallow molters and Violas tend to dig up molters more. Hopefully someone with more experience with other species will chime in soon.

scyllarus · Post by **scyllarus** » Thu Jun 03, 2010 5:51 pm

mmm...do you have any aggressive PPs, though? i have two of them (the largest) who seem to be possible candidates on hurting another crab...though there haven't been any serious fights so far.

CallaLily · Post by **CallaLily** » Thu Jun 03, 2010 5:58 pm

rambochu wrote:mmm...do you have any aggressive PPs, though? i have two of them (the largest) who seem to be possible candidates on hurting another crab...though there haven't been any serious fights so far.

Niphredil has been a bit aggressive in the past. She's stolen shells from Athelas several times and once attacked Favre. She's always displayed dominance over other crabs except Mallorn. Only once (that I'm aware of) did a dominance display turn violent and that was with another PP (Nessamelda, who won btw). She's also my most active PP. Mallorn is big at displaying his dominance with new crabs too but has never harmed any.

SaPen · Post by **SaPen** » Thu Jun 03, 2010 7:59 pm

I haven't had any problems with my Es and PPs, I don't have that many though. I have one PP which guards the food bowl but she just pushes. My E Aphrodite is rough with newcomers of either species, she chases them and catches them, then pins them down and investigates them. She lets them go and then they are all friends. I have one med/large E, two medium PPs (on larger side), and a small E. None of the PPs have ever bullied the small E. If they tried to bully the larger E they'd loose lol.

I have no experience with other species, I'm sure someone will be along to share their experiences with mixing other species.

scyllarus · Post by **scyllarus** » Thu Jun 03, 2010 9:23 pm

that's good to know. how are your set ups, by the way? i think i've got some decent hiding places for them, though i'll probably be putting more fake plants in soon, and i'm hoping that if worse comes to worse, the bullied crab can just hide.

i'm mostly concerned with my biggest PP, a medium who's getting on the large side, since he's kind of pushy and i could see him scaring the heck out of an E or anyone smaller, really.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jun 03, 2010 9:48 pm

The only bully I have is one of my E's, Sig. He tends to get pretty rough with newcomers and I usually see him kick at least one other crab out of his way every day but he's never done anything more than that to other E's or my PP's

iwhlvr · Post by **iwhlvr** » Thu Jun 03, 2010 10:47 pm

I have kept E and PP together with no problems, but you do need to be aware that their care needs are slightly different. E's like it warmer than the PP's, and seem to be less tolerant of a lower humidity. You shouldn't have problems with heat if you have a warmer and a cooler side to the tank. (I believe PP's like 75* and 70-80% while E's like 78-80* and 75-80%.) My E's also spend more time in the salt than the fresh water, but that is to be expected. I don't have any bully crabs so can't speak to that, but my E's are definitely more active and entertaining! I don't find them particularly fragile -- I've only lost one and that was due to my own stupidity -- bought a surface molter from the LPS and it didn't make it -- never moved in fact.

scyllarus · Post by **scyllarus** » Thu Jun 03, 2010 11:17 pm

hmm...the care specifications are good.

what about the exotics, anyone know?

edit:
especially ruggies. i'm tempted to get half a dozen of them...anyone know how they react to PPs and vice versa?

turboshell23 · Post by **turboshell23** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 12:24 am

I keep my E's and my Straws together. I have not had any problems.

they swim in the pools and climb together like a happy family

Disgruntled Crab · Post by **Disgruntled Crab** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 1:11 am

CallaLily wrote:I have PPs and Es together and haven't noticed any problems. In fact they eat, climb, sleep, & swim together often.

I've never kept any other species but I know there are a lot of crabbers who keep aussies separate because of their (possible) different saltwater needs. I think I've read that Indo's are shallow molters and Violas tend to dig up molters more. Hopefully someone with more experience with other species will chime in soon.

Same here, I do have one E bully that greets newcomers and let them all know he is king. Thats about it...

Kilimanjaro · Post by **Kilimanjaro** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 1:35 am

I'm not sure if any more input is still applicable since the original post is over one month old, but I would just like to offer my two cents anyways.

Some people do not mix species, but I have been keeping mine together since I began crabbing without a problem.

In fact, the few instances of cannibalism I have had seem to be when it is the same species.

Other than that, my 7 species seem to be living happily together.

Does aggression happen between them? Yes. Do the different species hang out together? Yes.

In fact, one Viola and one Straw seem to be best friends!

However, I do see a lot of same-species relationships. My two Straws hang out a lot, and my Ruggies seem to be attached by the shell.

I haven't encountered many problems, so I can say that for me, mixing species has been fine. However, crabbing seems to be on a person-to-peson basis, so what works for one may not work for another.

Disgruntled Crab · Post by **Disgruntled Crab** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 1:44 am

Kilimanjaro wrote:I'm not sure if any more input is still applicable since the original post is over one month old, but I would just like to offer my two cents anyways.

Hmm I didn't even notice that

Almost 3am , that's my excuse and I am sticking to it

scyllarus · Post by **scyllarus** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 10:09 am

hah, it's cool. thanks for the info, though - i found a store that sells Es and bought quite a few - 6 in all. i've seen a few instances of what might be bullying, but it doesn't seem to happen between species as much...it's normally the Es kicking each other around, though once a small E tried to dominate a much larger PP.

the trio in banded tapestry turbos are usually more-or-less inseparable. it makes my life so difficult trying to figure out who is who - it's two PPs and an E xD

Post by **JediMasterThrash** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 5:48 pm

I've had PPs, E's, Rugs, Viols, Brevies, and Straws living together for 5 years now without any issues.

I haven't noticed any interspecies bullying. Usually it's intraspecies, and it's usually limited to king-of-the-food-bowl (which is standard hermit crab social hierarchy), get-out-of-my-molting-tunnel, and the occasional new crab that decides he wants your shell. Right now. Real bad.