cannibalism

[Sarasobo]

I have had a crab cannibalize another in the past and lost one today :'( each time of the three times its has happend in my past years it always happend to the smallest weakest crab in my cast. other crab resources say its ok to mix large and small hermit crabs and others say not to what are your experiances and opinions on this topic? do you guys think its a bad idea to mix very differnt sized crabs? is there a way I prevent crabby violence in the future? I have pleny of space and hidaways so I dont belive that was an issue.

[megmaholm]

I don't think mixing different sizes is generally problem - many people, myself included, have crabs ranging from teeny to large living together happily. What kind of foods are you feeding? I've heard that in cases where the crabs aren't getting enough protein, they'll sometimes cannibalize. What are you tank conditions like? Size, substrate depth, etc?

[Sarasobo]

Im probibly going to have to go with the idea that they might be missing proteins in their diet what kind of fresh protien foods should I feed them? they look pale after molting. substrate is 6 inches in the highest spots and 3 in the lowest,they live in a large clear rubber maid and tempatures and humidity are carefully monitred.

[wodesorel]

I've had cannibalism happen in both directions. The worst was when my Jumbo E was taken out by crabs that were no more than small-mediums.

The substrate level could be a serious problem - they need to be able to hide from the others when they molt, so the more substrate they can be given, the less likely it will be for the other crabs to smell them or stumble across them by accident. 6 inches across the tank is a minimum recommendation for medium crabs. The larger the crab, the deeper it has to be, but the more you can provide the better regardless of size.

Protein and calcium are the other things that should be offered. It doesn't have to be fresh - freeze dried or frozen is perfectly okay. These guys are scavengers and they do best with a wide variety of items. Any kind of seafood or insect that has a hard skin or shell will give both protein and calcium. Shrimp of any kind, bloodworms, mealworms, crickets, plankton, etc. You can also offer unseasoned meat, poultry and fish of any kind as well. They don't need much, even a half-inch chunk is enough to feed a dozen crabs, so take a trimming from your dinner before or after cooking.

[YYWW]

If its a small and weak issue could they be passing first, and eaten after? Several species eat the sick and weak, but wouldnt eat each other when well. Perhaps they're just cleaning up after the inevitible.


Crabbers unite!!!

[kornchaser]

I have an over population problem and I feed them cuttlebone, freeze dried meal worms/crickets/grasshoppers and shrimp so whenever that stuff is gone I instantly re-fill it ASAP so I don't have to worry about cannibalism.. as much. I've never had a problem with it tbh even with my tank over populated a bit. Could you have an "evil" crab, one that's more rough and aggressive maybe?


Hermie mommy of 10 PP babies: Octavius Flemming, Poseidon, Bruiser, Junior, Matty Pumpkin, Turbo, Kaylee Frye, Pepper, Flower and Adrian Shephard.

[Sarasobo]

hmm I do seem to have one crab that is always aggressive.....

[kornchaser]

Im probibly going to have to go with the idea that they might be missing proteins in their diet what kind of fresh protien foods should I feed them? they look pale after molting. substrate is 6 inches in the highest spots and 3 in the lowest,they live in a large clear rubber maid and tempatures and humidity are carefully monitred.

They should not be pale after a good healthy molt. That could mean they don't have enough bright red or orange foods/carotenes like red shrimp and carrots. It could also mean they don't have enough protein and calcium. Or they simply haven't finished molting. Make sure you check out http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... p?p=852657 The nutrition guide.

hmm I do seem to have one crab that is always aggressive.....

You'll hear chirping and croaks I believe and the chirping can be confused with claws on glass. If your sub is 6" for teenies then a-okay but if you have a large and your sub isn't 10-12+" then that's your issue if you know they are being eaten while under and fragile. Also I had a micro crab hadn't molted at all so maybe some PPS who fell into the deep end of my "groovy lagoon" salt water dish and lost all but two of her limbs from the crawl to under a wood piece RIP I couldn't save my Sophie. But that's also a possibility just scattered limbs because they have PPS and continue to walk around like my large crab Squirt. So here's my questions:
Have you ever seen them physically pull another from their shell or put their claws into their shell?
Are they relatively new crabs that get cannibalized?
What exactly are you feeding them?
How many crabs in your Rubbermaid?
What are the dimensions of your Rubbermaid?

EDITED

Hermie mommy of 10 PP babies: Octavius Flemming, Poseidon, Bruiser, Junior, Matty Pumpkin, Turbo, Kaylee Frye, Pepper, Flower and Adrian Shephard.

[wodesorel]

Color has nothing to do with health. It is somewhat related to age - smaller crabs will often be very pale, older crabs not so much - but it really comes down to the individual crab. I have 66-some hermits who all get the same exact diet, and some are nearly black while others are cream.

[Crabinski]

Color has nothing to do with health. It is somewhat related to age - smaller crabs will often be very pale, older crabs not so much - but it really comes down to the individual crab. I have 66-some hermits who all get the same exact diet, and some are nearly black while others are cream.

What wode said. All my PPs eat the same food and have healthy molts. Big Enzo is a deep maroon, Harry a rich purple and red, Charles Paris and Marble are bright orange but Felix (who has been with me for over 6 years) is such a ghostly pale grayish-lilac!

[kornchaser]

Color has nothing to do with health. It is somewhat related to age - smaller crabs will often be very pale, older crabs not so much - but it really comes down to the individual crab. I have 66-some hermits who all get the same exact diet, and some are nearly black while others are cream.

When she said pale I assumed less than orange or dusty tan. My smallest is dusty orange and my biggest is deep purple. But pale whitish isn't usually okay. Correct?


Hermie mommy of 10 PP babies: Octavius Flemming, Poseidon, Bruiser, Junior, Matty Pumpkin, Turbo, Kaylee Frye, Pepper, Flower and Adrian Shephard.

[Sarasobo]

Group behavior status:
No I have never seen one of my hermits pull a limb off another or a pull one out of its shell
But as a side note,the other strange behaviors I observe frequently are: crazy she'll swapping that makes it very difficult to tell my pps apart. It is constant shell swapping amongst my cast.literally they are like a runway fashion show,sometimes switching shells twice a day.
I have quite the wardrobe of shells for my little friends so I don't think scareceity is an issue.
The other strange happening with my crabs is the recent and extreme shyness They hardly ever come to the surface. They come out of their dark tunnels at strange and very random time patterns to eat,poop,and hide once again.the crabs stay so hidden that I often have a hard time monitoring and keeping track of them and how many are in the large Rubbermaid

@Kornchaser
Other information
A: No the crabs disappear in a random order and are not relatively new crabs
A:I feed them usually whatever I can appropriately share with them from my dinner plate or freezer. Menu items in order from often to rarely include: peanut butter spinach,broccoli,carrots,red bell pepper,pea pods,grapes melon,banana,wheat germ,coconut,garbanzo beans,eggs,stake,fish
A:it's kind of an embarrassing answer but I started with six and I believe I am now sadly down to 4 but my crabs are extremely hard to keep track of because of their large environment filled with 6inches of sand (I know I still need to up my substrate dept) and their recent bashfulness
A: I don't know the exact depth of my habitat but it's at least 3 feet long. I will update you when I find out the depth.

Ps: Thank you for the support my crabbies and I are very thankful !
Also sorry for writing so much in the comments section

[kornchaser]

When she said pale I assumed less than orange or dusty tan. My smallest is dusty orange and my biggest is deep purple. But pale whitish isn't usually okay. Correct?


Hermie mommy of 10 PP babies: Octavius Flemming, Poseidon, Bruiser, Junior, Matty Pumpkin, Turbo, Kaylee Frye, Pepper, Flower and Adrian Shephard.

Update to my own post, I have a deep purple crab in a 3/8"-1/2" roughly and he's darker than my second biggest Sid who's in a 1 1/8" shell. Funny how that works.


Mommy of 11 PP babies - Poseidon (Sid), Toby, Matty, Junior, Aries, Kaylee, Turbo, Adrian, Freckles, Pepper and Flower. RIP Octavius & Fred

[kornchaser]

Group behavior status:
No I have never seen one of my hermits pull a limb off another or a pull one out of its shell
But as a side note,the other strange behaviors I observe frequently are: crazy she'll swapping that makes it very difficult to tell my pps apart. It is constant shell swapping amongst my cast.literally they are like a runway fashion show,sometimes switching shells twice a day.
I have quite the wardrobe of shells for my little friends so I don't think scareceity is an issue.
The other strange happening with my crabs is the recent and extreme shyness They hardly ever come to the surface. They come out of their dark tunnels at strange and very random time patterns to eat,poop,and hide once again.the crabs stay so hidden that I often have a hard time monitoring and keeping track of them and how many are in the large Rubbermaid

@Kornchaser
Other information
A: No the crabs disappear in a random order and are not relatively new crabs
A:I feed them usually whatever I can appropriately share with them from my dinner plate or freezer. Menu items in order from often to rarely include: peanut butter spinach,broccoli,carrots,red bell pepper,pea pods,grapes melon,banana,wheat germ,coconut,garbanzo beans,eggs,stake,fish
A:it's kind of an embarrassing answer but I started with six and I believe I am now sadly down to 4 but my crabs are extremely hard to keep track of because of their large environment filled with 6inches of sand (I know I still need to up my substrate dept) and their recent bashfulness
A: I don't know the exact depth of my habitat but it's at least 3 feet long. I will update you when I find out the depth.

Ps: Thank you for the support my crabbies and I are very thankful !
Also sorry for writing so much in the comments l

The claws in another's shell thing is pretty bad and I'm glad that's never happened. When a crab puts its claws in a shell its feeling if it'll fit... Whether it's occupied or not. Also, crazy shell change is a sign of impending molt. Usually if they pick a huge shell, too big for them, they're gunna grow in or out of it and they're gunna need some time.
In all my time molting there's always been an itty bitty in the same tank as my biggest with no problems with aggression at all.


Mommy of 11 PP babies - Poseidon (Sid), Toby, Matty, Junior, Aries, Kaylee, Turbo, Adrian, Freckles, Pepper and Flower. RIP Octavius & Fred