HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi, I’m pretty new here so I skimmed through most of the behavior topics but didn’t see anything on chirping.

Last night I woke up to my hermits chirping loudly. And I know it was loud because they are in another room and it woke me up. I had never heard the chirping before but I heard it was a thing so I slightly panicked. I come running out and all three of them are in/ near the food bowl and one is closed tightly in his shell with the other two next to him and it sounded like they are all chirping. I have no clue what was going on before I got there. I just reached in and gently moved the one tucked inside to the other side of the tank. I would have grabbed the aggressor, but he always runs from me. It’s like he knows.



Is the chirping bad? Is that fighting? The only other behavior they have had is constantly sitting on top of each other and I’m not sure if that’s worrisome either. Help lol

Chirping can mean alot of things. They may be coming up with a pecking order as well. I'd keep an eye on it...preferably without them knowing your watching lol. I have 2 food dishes in hopes to avoid food disagreements but that's me. I know your waiting for shells. That's something you have to keep an eye on...you don't want them taking eachothers shell, leaving a naked crab.how big are the 3 crabs, are they close in size you and what size tank? Shells and space can be a reason for fighting (if they are). Also like I said it can also be them getting to know eachother or saying I'm the boss here lol. I haven't had much fighting but I'm sure others here may have more advice for you. I know you said in another post you got them...did they all come together or did you put them together? You may have said already, sorry

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No no it’s okay!! Thanks for responding. So I have a shell shop with Probly about 15 ish shells. I read that you want at least five per crab so I got 15. Right now they are in a 20 gallon and I’m struggling with what to do. I have the 40 gallon breeder but we are moving on the 31st.. so I didn’t want to set up the tank then take it all down and move them then set it up again if it would be stressful. I’ve had them for about a month and a half now. I got them on July 12th from pets mart. :/ (I had no clue at the time anything about the industry and I feel so bad now) but they all came together and we got them all about the same size, and we got three.. I read that odd numbers generally work better but I’m wondering if that was maybe a mistake? Also getting them all the same size seemed like a good idea at the time… now I’m not so sure. They havnt ever done this before or shown any signs of aggression that I’ve seen other than like I said just sitting on top of each other or burying next to each other. I’ll try to attach pictures for reference.


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I get not doing the tank yet and a 20g is fine eso since your moving them up eventually anyway. The extra shells are good and 5 per crab is good...the more the better but I know there is only so much room in any tank lol. I keep some with openings around their size now and some that are slightly larger for them to grow into. They may be just est. Order in the tank. They don't dig eachother up? You do want to be careful if someone is molting. There are ways you can isolate them if needed during this. I know there's alot of good ppk on here that may have better advice. Since they are all in there now doing any dunking wouldnt make diff I don't think plus they were together before. They are prob fine. I'd get another food dish in case they were chirping over food. Hopefully my reply will move ur post up for crabby77,curley,Joe or aussie to see they are prob the ones I listen to the most oh and Motocrab.

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Thank you! It’s funny you say that because last night was the only night I’ve ever had two food bowls out, I was going to start trying that just to give them a lot of variety so I’ll keep doing that and hopefully that helps. I have like bags of shells that I’ve boiled ready to go in the bigger tank but there just isn’t room in here. Maybe I should add just a few more and see if maybe that helps out a little bit. I have a ten gallon iso tank set up and running. That’s the tank that came with the original set up the first day, so they were only in there about a day before I upgraded once I figured it out. So maybe if it happens again I can just put the aggressive one in the isolation tank. The loud chirping was just so alarming. Scared the crap out of me. I’ll maybe move another log in there or something and see if the new thing pulls their interest or something. Last night was the first night also that I saw all three of them out in the past week. I was actually scared one of them had went down to molt because I hadn’t seen him for about a week until last night.


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That might be a good idea. Each of mine have their own little hidey place, a log, a cave etc. I know it's hard to fit everything. I have a 40g and I have room issues lol. I only have 2 large ones, kinda around the same size the other one is tiny. I think if you add a hiding space, keep 2 bowls and am eye on them, they will be OK. You never know but as long as they aren't going after eachother it should hopefully work out. They were probably just saying I get to eat first, this is my space. It's nerve racking not knowing. I worry about mine as well. Just wait until it's time to molt. I am always on edge then lol. I rescue animals to rehab and adopt out when needed but I worry the most over those crabs lol

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Wow! Much respect to you. I always have such respect for rescuers and fosters. I fostered for a few years and had to stop. I’m too emotional and I get too attached and it was very stressful for me. So thank you for helping animals. I’ll keep an eye on them and Probly freak out more. Ya know, like we all do all the time. with my luck they will all go down to molt like right before I need to move and it will be a nightmare lol


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Also does anyone know if these aquarium rocks are safe? They are just smooth river rocks but they are meant for aquariums.. are they safe to put in the bottom of my pools?


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They should be OK as long as they are not painted or gathered from nearby a place that used pesticides (ik pesticides are for plants but still). But since they are used for aquariums they should be fine.

Hermiecrab wrote:They should be OK as long as they are not painted or gathered from nearby a place that used pesticides. But since they are used for aquariums they should be fine.

I boiled them for a while and they left a black ring around the pot.. but I scratched at one with a knife and it didn’t seem painted. So I wasn’t sure. When they are in cold water for a while there isn’t much residue or anything but I don’t know what they would put on that would make them not safe in water when they are made for aquariums. But I mean.. I’ve been surprised before lol


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Hi! I use river rocks too…just give them a good rinsing first.

Also, the chirping…from what I understand, it’s often just them saying “back off” to another crab. More of a warning to “leave me alone” than a cry for help.

Trust in their crabby instincts that they will figure out the pecking order and live accordingly.

Good advice on 2 food dishes and lots of shells…can’t hurt!

Edit: Just saw you got another reply on the rocks…and I can’t remember who on here said it, but you’re not supposed to boil rocks. I had never heard that before, but I’ve learned so much on this forum!


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Okay I was hoping it was just pecking order but since it seemed to be one VS two I was really worried


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crabbycasey wrote:Hi! I use river rocks too…just give them a good rinsing first.

Also, the chirping…from what I understand, it’s often just them saying “back off” to another crab. More of a warning to “leave me alone” than a cry for help.

Trust in their crabby instincts that they will figure out the pecking order and live accordingly.

Good advice on 2 food dishes and lots of shells…can’t hurt!

Edit: Just saw you got another reply on the rocks…and I can’t remember who on here said it, but you’re not supposed to boil rocks. I had never heard that before, but I’ve learned so much on this forum!


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Oh gosh you’re not supposed to boil them? WOW I learn so much from this forum already.


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Should I get new ones then?


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I think the worry with certain types of rocks is that they could explode when heated. No need to get new ones if you already boiled them.