HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hey guys! I'm looking into upgrading my tank from my 20g to maybe a 55 or 75 gallon. I'm really interested in getting large water pools, (bubblers filters etc) and some new crabby friends! I was wondering:
1. Would two, 2.5g water pools be too big for a 55g or 75g? Would I have humidity problems?
2. What upkeep would I have to do for big water pools? Would I need to cycle them before adding crabs?
3. Would I need multiple food dishes throughout the tank?
4. How should I go about quarantining new crabs? I'm extremely anxious because of what happened to Samwise

Thanks!

(I know I've been talking about a lot of different stuff lately! Trying to decide what's best for the crabbies )

Yay! That's so cool, I really want to upgrade too. I don't have a whole lot of expierience with bubblers and water dishes, but for your 3rd and 4th questions, I think either multiple food bowls or one big food bowl would be good if you're going to get more hermies after upgrading, you could also use a food like cooconut that can last a while and scatter it around the tank, hermit crabs are scavengers by nature. Also HCA doesn't recommend the PPSD method, usually it's a good idea to dip the new hermies in the salt water tank and then let them explore the new crabitat

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing about the food . And no, I wasn't suggesting PPSD, just a little quarantine to make sure they're healthy
Also, how would Ya'll suggest taking a tank that big up a flight of stairs...

Eek, that'll be tricky! Maybe you could use a cart of some sort? I guess the cart would be tricky to get up the stairs tho...

Hermiecrab wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 25, 2022 2:38 pm

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing about the food . And no, I wasn't suggesting PPSD, just a little quarantine to make sure they're healthy
Also, how would Ya'll suggest taking a tank that big up a flight of stairs...

I had to go through nearly the EXACT same thing as you. Upgrading from a 29g to a 55g. My crabs are up in my attic, and not only are the stairs VERY steep, there's a curve to them at one point.
My tip for getting the tank up the stairs: Use brawn! Me, and 2 other family members (much stronger than me) helped me get it up the stairs. Also, go VERY slow and rest the bottom of the tank on one of the stairs if you need a break. I am emphasizing using extreme carefulness as I discovered a crack edging out from one of the corners that may or may not have happened from it going up (Not sure! I didn't check it well at the pet store when I picked it up.) I hope this helps!

*I had to use plexiglass to secure the crack. It was a long process.)

Ok, thanks Pumkincrab! also, how many 50lb bags of play sand would I need to fill 55/75g?

If I remember correctly, I think I purchased 4 but only used about 3.5 bags, and it got me to 11 or 12 inches. I'd buy 4 bags, just to be safe. You'll most likely need more than a block of eco earth/coconut fiber- I'd try 2.
(Sorry for so many estimations! I put the tank together in March and only added in the EE last month.)

Thats fine, thanks for the info!

Still trying to decide if its worth it to have big water pools, and what will fit in the tank...

https://beanfarm.com/products/ultrather ... 11-x-48-in
Does this look like a decent heat mat for a 75? I want something that won't be too hot to the touch, and that works well...

Hermiecrab wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 25, 2022 6:35 pm

Thats fine, thanks for the info!

Still trying to decide if its worth it to have big water pools, and what will fit in the tank...

https://beanfarm.com/products/ultrather ... 11-x-48-in
Does this look like a decent heat mat for a 75? I want something that won't be too hot to the touch, and that works well...

I use an ultratherm that covers the whole back of my tank and sits right above the substrate for my 55 gallon. It has lasted 10+ years so far. It doesn't burn when I touch the mat when on, if that is what you are referring to.

And if you are referring to tank getting too hot, I just learned about thermostats to regulate the temperature, such as this one https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostor ... ts-3261919 (often chewy and amazon matches online sale prices, so they may also have it there for same price) and it has been so helpful. There is a temp probe that goes in the tank and whenever it dips below the set temp on the thermostat, it will turn the heat pad on and turn it off again when temperature is reached. Highly recommend and think it is super helpful! And much easier to regulate temp than getting a dimmer switch and adjusting manually.

Ok cool! I was referring to that fact that I didn't want the heat mat itself to get too hot and burn me/furniture, but I'm for sure getting a thermostat..Thansk for the info and suggestions!

Does anyone know of humane ways to get exotic crabs? (Straws, Blueberries, E's... )

I've seen some shops, both real shops and online shops that have exotic hermies but they're pretty expensive, and I don't know if they're humane or not

Had a similar problem getting my 75 gallon up the stairs and onto a shelf a few months ago. I had to have 2 of my family members help me get it up the stairs.

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostor ... -25-gallon

This tank has good reviews on amazon, and awful reviews on petco... Does anyone use this? I need it to hold water for pools.

Also, does anyone know of any good, low priced tank stands?

I had to 2.5s in a 55 gallon for a while and it worked but I wouldn't recommend it. Depending on if you put them above or below to sub it will take up a lot of either climbing or digging space and limits how many crabs and what sizes you can have. It's also super hard to maintain cause you can't move to water pools so cleaning is near impossible (you need a siphon system but even then the hight of the tank makes that pretty difficult. If you do do it you'll want to filter the pools so it doesn't need as frequent cleaning (just make sure the wires aren't exposed). I'd also say go with the 75 rather than 55. 75 has more width normally so you won't need to upgrade as soon as the crabs get to extra large size (I like to have a minimum of 18" width for any crab bigger than a large).

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Ok, thanks!