A Bully?

[Sensi]

I think my crab, Elizabeth, is a bully! She's a tiny little thing and not my newest. She has now chased two different crabs out of their shells. Crabs that were bigger than her. She has plenty of shells her size. This one is actually a bit big for her. This morning I got up to find Jack cowering naked in the corner of the crabitat and Elizabeth strutting around in his shell. I put him in iso with a couple of shells and he took one on. I'm going to leave him in there a few days to make sure he's ok.

Are some crabbies just bullys?

[sugarselections]

Yes, some crabs are bullies. They have individual personalities and some of them are jerks. I have a small Ecuadorian named Francisco who sounds like your Elizabeth. He was a real bully when I first got him (and he was only a micro!) but has calmed down over time and is now more of a nuisance than a threat to the other crabs. He's particularly fond of charging at his tankmates like he's going to attack them, even those who are two of three times bigger than him.

How long have you had Elizabeth? Do you have a decent sized iso tank? If I was in the same situation I might put her in iso for a week or a month before adding her back to the main tank.

[Sensi]

I've probably had Elizabeth for about three months. I would call her a tiny. The crab she chased out of his shell last night I've probably had for two years.
My iso tank is tiny at the moment. Probably a five gallon. My main tank is a 10 gallon. We're working on getting a larger (much larger!!! I want more crabby babies!) tank and when we get it I'll make the 10 gallon my iso tank. I know the 5 gallon is too small. Working on a bigger one though.

[tigermoon89]

You can try iso-ing the aggressor with a few spare shells to choose from.

Each time you see her being aggressive, put her on the other side of the tank. If she still goes after the other crab, iso her for a few min (like a time out). Other members have posted having great success with this method.