HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hello!

Last night I took my new little E (no name right now!) out of ISO and introduced to the main tank with my larger PP, Finnick. Little guy went right to cuddling Finnick in the hidey place and they wandered around and ate their dinner just fine. A couple of hours later I heard someone croaking and found Finnick crawling on top of my E and the E trying to run away. I moved them to opposite sides of my 10G and everyone seemed fine. My E kept exploring, not shying away from Finnick at all. It happened again a little while later, so I took a moment to watch and the E got away on their own just fine, since Finnick is so much slower, and my PP didn't follow. I decided to leave them alone over night and everyone was just fine this morning since the E could obviously get away if needed.

Anyway, my point: Could I have a problem with them getting along long-term or are they just getting used to each other/getting to know each other? Finnick was a slightly-emergency Craigslist adoption and has always lived alone as far as I'm aware, and I didn't know if that could impact her feeling toward having friends.

Thanks so much!!

I would say to keep a close eye on them when you can. It might take some time getting used to each other, but hopefully they can learn to get along.

Good Luck,
Bonnie

Dominance displays are normal for crabs, especially when adding new crabs to your tank. It can help to dip them in the tanks fresh water so they "smell familiar" to the other crabs. Unless the crab is pinching, injuring or trying to steal the other crabs shell it is ok to leave them be. It's how they establish their hierarchy.

One that that does stand out is that you have a larger PP and an E in a 10 gallon. Es need lots of room to climb, dig, etc. more so than PPs. The recommended minimum tank size for an E is a 30 gallon. I think it will benefit both of your crabs to look into getting them a bigger tank because with such a small space, overcrowding can become a big issue and one or both of your crabs could get hurt.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the advice guys! I'll keep an eye on them!