HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I was watching my crabs and my large E was sitting in the shellpit. My smallest PP went to walk past him and the E used his big claw and hit him, rolling him out of the shellpit. Tiny crab tried to walk past again, got hit and shot backwards again. And again. And again. Then he did it and jumped on top of the small dude while he was still flipped over, so then I moved the E to the mosspit. The PP was no where near his size, I could fit two and a half of him into the E's shell. What exactly was going on?

the Large e has always been "rude" to the little guy, sitting on him and using his walking legs to shove the little guy out of the food bowl. Why would they be showing aggression though? And was this some sort of Territory fight? I know that the E is a confirmed male, no idea on the pp.

Flicking and shoving are normal dominance displays. If he's not actually injuring, pinching, or trying to steal a crab's shell I wouldn't be overly concerned. I've seen it at the food dish. I haven't in the shell shop but it's the same idea. Little one must wait his turn. I know it seems kind of cruel but it's the way things work.



I like this blog post here: http://theconscientiouscrabhobbyist.blo ... y.html?m=1. It explains it better than I can.