Bullying!
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Guest
Topic author
Bullying!
So, I have 4 hermit crabs in my tank. One is bigger than all the others (Fatty). Today I found him under a coco-hut latched onto one of the smaller crabs. He let go when i pulled him off, I placed him on the other side of the tank and went out of the room. I went back maybe an hour later and he was latched on harder to the same little guy and wouldn't let go. The poor little guy was chirping his head off! I don't know exactly what to do to stop this! Please help.
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Guest
Topic author
I would iso the big one while you try and sort it out. I lost two of my crabs a few months ago to a new big one which went of a murderous rampage.
There are a number of things it might be, maybe he likes the look of the little ones shell, sometimes a big crab will want to squeeze itself into a little shell. So you could offer him heaps of different shells.
Or it may be a nutrition thing. You haven't had him long have you? So I gave my bully honey which he pigged into, raw mince, sea sponge, cuttle fish, scrimp, popcorn etc. It is certainly a good idea to try and cover the food angle first by Isolating him for a week and giving him everything you can think of! I have heard silversides are really good in this sort of situation too.
There are people here MUCH more knowledgeable then me, I hope one of them will come soon with other suggestions!
There are a number of things it might be, maybe he likes the look of the little ones shell, sometimes a big crab will want to squeeze itself into a little shell. So you could offer him heaps of different shells.
Or it may be a nutrition thing. You haven't had him long have you? So I gave my bully honey which he pigged into, raw mince, sea sponge, cuttle fish, scrimp, popcorn etc. It is certainly a good idea to try and cover the food angle first by Isolating him for a week and giving him everything you can think of! I have heard silversides are really good in this sort of situation too.
There are people here MUCH more knowledgeable then me, I hope one of them will come soon with other suggestions!
jennie's given the basic fixes for most hermit crab bullying.
if those don't work (you may want to iso him with proteins anyway), you may have to implement time-out. take the bully out and put him in iso for a half hour to a hour, then put him back in. if he continues to bully the smaller crab, increase the time before you put him back in. it seems to work for most people who have difficult crabs.
also, sometimes it's just a personality or pecking order thing. i wouldn't let it get out of hand, though...i've had two crabs with injuries from fights (however, i only discovered them with injuries, i didn't see the fights to break them up). one had a very obvious clawmark on her shield leg (i wish i'd gotten a picture, but she molted again and it's gone) and another was missing the last joint of his shield leg. minor injuries, but worse could happen.
if those don't work (you may want to iso him with proteins anyway), you may have to implement time-out. take the bully out and put him in iso for a half hour to a hour, then put him back in. if he continues to bully the smaller crab, increase the time before you put him back in. it seems to work for most people who have difficult crabs.
also, sometimes it's just a personality or pecking order thing. i wouldn't let it get out of hand, though...i've had two crabs with injuries from fights (however, i only discovered them with injuries, i didn't see the fights to break them up). one had a very obvious clawmark on her shield leg (i wish i'd gotten a picture, but she molted again and it's gone) and another was missing the last joint of his shield leg. minor injuries, but worse could happen.
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Guest
Topic author
It was terrible with my crabs, the first I woke up to find him in pieces all over the tank, was so upset. I didn't have an Iso then so I went to find out info on the net (which was how I got onto the forums) to work out what to do and while I was there the bad crab had another half out of his shell with legs and bits off. Poor Pinchie was already dead. I think in this case he was being dominant and also starved. I was so upset I actually took him back to the shop as my son was cryng his eyes out over Pinchie.
However I then got an iso tank set-up and a few weeks later discovered the killer crab was still there at the shop so we gave him a second chance. After being fed like a Prince and hanging out in ISO for three weeks he has been fine in the main tank, still a bit of a bully but not hurting other crabs!
However I then got an iso tank set-up and a few weeks later discovered the killer crab was still there at the shop so we gave him a second chance. After being fed like a Prince and hanging out in ISO for three weeks he has been fine in the main tank, still a bit of a bully but not hurting other crabs!
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Guest
Topic author
Wow, thanks a lot guys! 
I did ISO the bigger crab for about an hour and then returned him to the original tank. he didn't go straight for the small one like last time. I checked every thirty minutes after that, and he was fine. I'm still going to try all the different foods though. Mucho appreciated.
I did ISO the bigger crab for about an hour and then returned him to the original tank. he didn't go straight for the small one like last time. I checked every thirty minutes after that, and he was fine. I'm still going to try all the different foods though. Mucho appreciated.