Freaking out

[Crys_Crab]

I don't know what I just witnessed.....my new crab was on top of one of my older crabs....and there was a noise. I could hear them making a squeeky noise. They were 3 feet away and I could hear it over all the other noise in my house. It seemed like the one on top of the other was using his big pincher on the other....

Of course I panicked and separated them. Against my husbands insistence.

Were they fighting?

I'm freaking out

[HermitCrabingrid]

It was chirping, they are in destress

[Crys_Crab]

Ok so the one crab was attacking the other. I'm not sure why though.
What should I do?

[Bridgitmac80]

Watch them and keep separating them if they keep acting up. It could be over a shell or it could be one showing dominance over the other.

Keep separating them, put one on one side of the tank or in the moss pit (the aggressor is who I always remove) and if it keeps happening you might have to move the aggressor to ISO. He could be attacking cause your other one smells good, has it molted recently or could be in the midst of a molt soon? Is one of them brand new to the tank? Another thing you can do is bath them both in salt water, I just set mine in the salt water and they come out using the ramp in just a few seconds.

[Crys_Crab]

The one who was being the agressor is new to the tank, and it might be about a shell because his is in rough shape but we have tons of shells for him to take.....The one he was attacking has not molted recently.....I will keep watching them.

Thanks

[Rocky]

How recently did the other guy molt? He might have some traces of the delicious molting smell on him. You could try giving him a quick fresh water bath
Is the agressor brand new? Sometimes brand new crabs panic a little because of what they've been through. Imagine the conditions at the pet store and the warehouse where they were stored, he's been deprived of shells, food, water, etc. and had to fight to survive for awhile. After all that, he probably panicked a little when all that was laid in front of him and he was faced with a 'competetor crab' so his instinct told him to fight. If that's the case, he should calm down with a molt Maybe add extra shells and put them all over the tank for him to find and add some extra delicious food, packed with protien and energy foods like honey or sweet fruits.
Good luck! Keep us updated on your little guys

[Jennybecca]

The one who was being the agressor is new to the tank, and it might be about a shell because his is in rough shape but we have tons of shells for him to take.....The one he was attacking has not molted recently.....I will keep watching them.

Thanks

Let's not forget about our plays for dominance amongst our crabby colonies. It is just part of a crabs world, a hierarchy. In the wild, this hierarchy defines everything from the food they eat and the shells they wear. While our little captives also have the additional stressors of being where they are now.
Keep separating them. Time outs work wonders, flash lights tend to scare them enough to stop, and baths can be very promising. If all else fails an iso could come in handy.
It sounds like you're environment is fine wih plenty of extra shells, until the new one settles, he my not even explore them.
Keep us updated. But don't panic.... It can be tricky with introductions sometimes.

[Crys_Crab]

Ok so here is the update....LOL
I separated them a few times. Then the older crab got smart and had his eye on the newer guy and if he got close, he would go the other way. When I went to bed they were no where near each other and same this morning. The shells were really messed up so I think he was checking them out. The one he is in is much too small for him, and is all cracked around the edge, which is why we got him. We felt bad that there was no appropriate shells for him to change into at the store......Today it's been rather quiet in the tank.....I haven't seen much movement. Hopefully all is well tonight.

[blitz]

I went through a similar experience with a new crab. Curly (a newbie) "attacked" Bonkers (another newbie) twice causing him to leave his shell and go naked. I believed it to be a shell-issue and though there were plenty of shells in the tank, Curly was NOT comfortable with the idea of a shell-competitor so I isoed Curly with 14 shells to choose from. Long story short, he found a suitable shell (has been in it ever since), was moved back into the main crabitat and hasn't had any problems since!!

So if problems persist, I would recommend doing to iso thing for a couple of days. But hopefully your 'tat remains peaceful!!
Good luck!

[Crys_Crab]

Last night my son and I got all the proper shells for this crabs size, and scattered them around the tank hoping he would swap. They've always been in there but I guess he never made it up to the shell shop.

Sure enough, this morning he was in a new shell. Thank goodness.

This is what his shell looked like when we got him. Much too small and cracked, and very thin. His new shell is a great one that is a great size for him and got some substance to it.


Broken Shell by Crystal Dez Gould, on Flickr

So hopefully there will be no more shell fights