HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I'm most likely going to get a 20 Gallon in March, leaving my 10 Gallon crabless. I want to get some Ecuadorian crabs and raise them in a seperate enclosure then my Purple Pinchers. On the other hand, Marine Crabs sound fun. However, there is barely any info on Marine Crabs that I can find, so I'm afraid that I might not be able to raise them well. I have already read up on Ecuadorian crabs on the care sheets they have here. Then again, some exotic species that isn't common in America sounds really fun, and their is plenty of info on them here. Any help?

Like you've probably read, Es like a lot o'space. Straws seem to be the most commonly sold uncommon crab... but by all accounts they really are quite delicate. I wouldn't try to keep them in a ten gal either - you want a really ideal setup for straws.

Why not pack up your ten gal and just keep it as an isolation tank for when you have new or sick crabs?

I might, I've never had a need for an isolation tank. I've raised happy crabs for about a year without it.

I also think keeping it "just in case" is a good idea. Especially if you ever decide to add crabs, or adopt an iso is especially useful. But. you could also design a tank topper.

Rawrgeous wrote:I also think keeping it "just in case" is a good idea. Especially if you ever decide to add crabs, or adopt an iso is especially useful. But. you could also design a tank topper.

Now that sounds fun. Purple Pinchers absolutely love climbing.

Totally - but you may want to expand in the future, or encounter an emergency (hopefully not!). It may be useful in the future to have the option.

As far as types of marine hermits, these pages have some names and basic info:
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/f ... -love-them

https://www.petcha.com/the-best-hermit- ... reef-tank/


This article is general & pretty basic:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2011/6/inverts


As far as care goes, standard marine tank stuff is the answer. Protein skimmers, specific gravity tests, pH tests, water changes, filtration, cycling the tank, and whatever other stuff SW tanks need... I dunno, I'm a strictly FW aquarium kinda gal. I know there are semi-terestreal crabs that have different care requirements, but your best bet with them is to find their names (and their scientific names) and look them up individually for care specifications.

LadyJinglyJones wrote:Totally - but you may want to expand in the future, or encounter an emergency (hopefully not!). It may be useful in the future to have the option.

As far as types of marine hermits, these pages have some names and basic info:
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/f ... -love-them

https://www.petcha.com/the-best-hermit- ... reef-tank/


This article is general & pretty basic:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2011/6/inverts


As far as care goes, standard marine tank stuff is the answer. Protein skimmers, specific gravity tests, pH tests, water changes, filtration, cycling the tank, and whatever other stuff SW tanks need... I dunno, I'm a strictly FW aquarium kinda gal. I know there are semi-terestreal crabs that have different care requirements, but your best bet with them is to find their names (and their scientific names) and look them up individually for care specifications.

Oh my god thank you. I've been looking for weeks for good information. This is the best information I've got on Marine Hermies. Hats off to you!

You may want to look into some of the fishlore forums, as I'm willing to bet they have a good amount of info on them since they are popular in the aquarium hobby. The only thing I know about them is that they require live rock or sand.

No prob.