Vanished Crab? Not just buried...
Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2024 2:39 am
When I was gifted my crabs in early June, I was given two of them, as we all know they are social animals. Both would be considered small-sized, with Romulus being just slightly bigger than the other. I originally had the 10 gallon kit that PetSmart sells. About a week after I moved my crabs in, the smaller one went under (by the way, Romulus had a green-painted shell and immediately swapped into a spotted turbo after moving in. Shorty had a red-painted shell and went under in it). I didn't worry about it because I knew it was most likely stress or maybe even exploration. When I saw no trace of him after a month, I assumed he was molting and didn't expect him to be up for another month or so. Totally fine.
At the end of August, I bought the 20 gallon that I have now. I was in the process of setting it up when I noticed that that day, the red shell was sitting on top of the sand, empty. I thought he had finally finished and swapped, but I thoroughly checked every single shell in the tank as I moved them into the new one and I couldn't see him. I was worried he was shell-less. I took a soft bristle unused paint brush and spent 5 hours (literally) slowly brushing the sand as delicately as possible searching for him. By the time I cleaned out the whole tank of its sand, I found no body but three or four pieces of legs, a claw, and what looked like crushed orange exo. I was so worried because to me he had just disappeared, the fact that I couldn't find any kind of body really confused me. I checked outside the tank as well to see if he had escaped despite the lid having a lock on it but I didn't find anything.
I've read that sometimes if a crab is molting and the sub isn't deep enough (I believe I filled it to four or five inches) other crabs can smell them and attack/eat them. Could this explain why my crab went missing? I couldn't think of any other reason at the time but I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask if anyone else experienced this.
Since the move Romulus has definitely made himself at home. He's made a nest in the top of the coconut climbing wall, pulled off a chunk of wood off his driftwood and made a bed out of it, and at one point he made 5 holes in the ground all over the place. I am also worried that adding a new crab will throw off the balance of his territory and will result in a fight or another vanished crab. I've taken a liking to Romulus and I'd be crushed if he's one of the few crabs that don't mind being by themselves.
At the end of August, I bought the 20 gallon that I have now. I was in the process of setting it up when I noticed that that day, the red shell was sitting on top of the sand, empty. I thought he had finally finished and swapped, but I thoroughly checked every single shell in the tank as I moved them into the new one and I couldn't see him. I was worried he was shell-less. I took a soft bristle unused paint brush and spent 5 hours (literally) slowly brushing the sand as delicately as possible searching for him. By the time I cleaned out the whole tank of its sand, I found no body but three or four pieces of legs, a claw, and what looked like crushed orange exo. I was so worried because to me he had just disappeared, the fact that I couldn't find any kind of body really confused me. I checked outside the tank as well to see if he had escaped despite the lid having a lock on it but I didn't find anything.
I've read that sometimes if a crab is molting and the sub isn't deep enough (I believe I filled it to four or five inches) other crabs can smell them and attack/eat them. Could this explain why my crab went missing? I couldn't think of any other reason at the time but I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask if anyone else experienced this.
Since the move Romulus has definitely made himself at home. He's made a nest in the top of the coconut climbing wall, pulled off a chunk of wood off his driftwood and made a bed out of it, and at one point he made 5 holes in the ground all over the place. I am also worried that adding a new crab will throw off the balance of his territory and will result in a fight or another vanished crab. I've taken a liking to Romulus and I'd be crushed if he's one of the few crabs that don't mind being by themselves.