Number of Crabs Opinions??

mariilene · Post by **mariilene** » Fri Dec 19, 2014 5:09 pm

Hey everyone! I'm in the process of upgrading to the 25 gallon below and would like your opinions on population! If you want to see more on the upgrade, there's a thread in the Pictures forum ("10 --> 25 Gal.!

") that I'll link when I'm at a computer!

(The plastic tub is a temp. visual for a hut! And there will be much more for climbing when my hemp arrives! That's also about 10" of substrate.)

So, what do you think about populating it? I have a small E that will be going into this tank and the pet store I'm buying species buddies from has two micros and a small. All of them would be awesome, but I think it would be crowded after the micros grew a bit. Am I right? Wrong? Maybe both micros? The small and a micro? Lay it on me!

Scarlz · Post by **Scarlz** » Fri Dec 19, 2014 6:29 pm

E's need a lot more space than most. You could probably get away with two imo. I have a 150 gallon tank I have my E's in with lots of levels and everything, and they STILL tear it up. lol.

CallaLily · Post by **CallaLily** » Fri Dec 19, 2014 6:36 pm

What's the footprint for this tank?

Edit: Oops, I see the answer on your other post. So about the same footprint as a 15g, just taller. I personally wouldn't keep Es in anything smaller than a 40B anymore. They just seem to do best with a lot more room, imo. I'd do around 3-4 smaller PPs, keeping in mind that they will eventually outgrow the tank.

Here's a good guide to help you decide for yourself: viewtopic.php?t=93830

mariilene · Post by **mariilene** » Fri Dec 19, 2014 6:41 pm

Scarlz wrote:E's need a lot more space than most. You could probably get away with two imo. I have a 150 gallon tank I have my E's in with lots of levels and everything, and they STILL tear it up. lol.

Two was my guess but I've been holding out what I figure is false hope for three

CallaLily wrote:What's the footprint for this tank?

It's a standard 25 Gallon, so 24x12x20. 24" long, 12" wide. Around 9-ish" of substrate.

mariilene · Post by **mariilene** » Fri Dec 19, 2014 7:27 pm

CallaLily wrote:What's the footprint for this tank?

Edit: Oops, I see the answer on your other post. So about the same footprint as a 15g, just taller. I personally wouldn't keep Es in anything smaller than a 40B anymore. They just seem to do best with a lot more room. I'd do around 3-4 smaller PPs, keeping in mind that they will eventually outgrow the tank.

Here's a good guide to help you decide for yourself: viewtopic.php?t=93830

The guide gave me the impression a couple pretty small ones would be okay for awhile. T: I'm super attached to Gurdy unfortunately, and she's the only crab I have. I guess I'll have to look into rehoming her and finding some PPs.

aldebaron0626 · Post by **aldebaron0626** » Fri Dec 19, 2014 7:58 pm

I think you could keep 2 small Es for a little while in that tank but start thinking upgrade asap. Give them lots of levels and stuff to tear up. My 2 Es did possibly eat my 2 PPs in a tank with the same area but they get along together just fine (so far). I wouldn't mix species (again) based on my limited experience.

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mariilene · Post by **mariilene** » Fri Dec 19, 2014 8:04 pm

aldebaron0626 wrote:I think you could keep 2 small Es for a little while in that tank but start thinking upgrade asap. Give them lots of levels and stuff to tear up. My 2 Es did possibly eat my 2 PPs in a tank with the same area but they get along together just fine (so far). I wouldn't mix species (again) based on my limited experience.

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I appreciate it. (: I was hoping Gurdy (small) and micro E would work for awhile. I haven't even finished this upgrade and it takes up so much of my living space, it's hard to consider upgrading again anytime soon. Hopefully I'll upgrade MYSELF from renting a room to renting an apartment in 2015 and can get a much a bigger crabitat going.

I think I'm going to hold on to the idea of Gurdy and a small micro for now. I know it could get cramped very quickly and I'm going to give them LOTS of stuff to do - I just love Gurdy and don't want to give her up because I'm six months from a bigger tat. I hope that isn't a mistake.

I promise I'm listening to the advice Callalily! And I do really appreciate it! I would just like to give it a shot before giving up on her. <3

aldebaron0626 · Post by **aldebaron0626** » Fri Dec 19, 2014 9:25 pm

Mine started small, not quite micro, and are growing fast. They molted 2x in 4 months

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Post by **wodesorel** » Fri Dec 19, 2014 10:05 pm

mariilene wrote:It's a standard 25 Gallon, so 24x12x20. 24" long, 12" wide. Around 9-ish" of substrate.

Treat it as a 20 gallon high in terms of space, since it's the same size just a few inches taller. I also think two small Es would be okay in there for quite a while. They shouldn't bother each other until they become mediums at least. If you can get two females you may be okay for even longer. Es are a difficult species for some keepers (myself included) to keep, so it's always something to consider when loading up a tank and thinking about the future. Either you'll get crabs that will be perfectly fine and you'll have them for years without issues, or you'll end up with monsters - there is no way to tell ahead of time which it will be.

CallaLily · Post by **CallaLily** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 8:04 am

wodesorel wrote: Treat it as a 20 gallon high in terms of space, since it's the same size just a few inches taller.

It's also the same footprint as a 15g (24 x 12.5 x 12.5). Weird how it works like that.

mariilene · Post by **mariilene** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 1:05 pm

Yeah, these tanks are weird.

Thanks so much for all the thoughts and info., everyone!!

Post by **wodesorel** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 1:39 pm

CallaLily wrote:

It's also the same footprint as a 15g (24 x 12.5 x 12.5). Weird how it works like that.

My 15 gallon is the same footprint as a 10 gallon. I didn't realize they even made those long and tall!

CallaLily · Post by **CallaLily** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 3:21 pm

wodesorel wrote: My 15 gallon is the same footprint as a 10 gallon. I didn't realize they even made those long and tall!

I didn't either. Neat! So I guess I should describe mine as a 15g long. Who knew.

kornchaser · Post by **kornchaser** » Sat Dec 27, 2014 8:06 am

I have no expertise in the E crabbie department but I think a couple of teeny Es would be good in a tank like that since they like to dig, dig, dig. Once they get bigger like 2.5" shells then I'd upgrade but with the growth rate of PPs I think that's a few years off. My teenie PP turned into a medium in a year and won't go large for a few more. Some people think bigger is better and others just can't afford it and your case you just can't fit it. Since crabbies need friends I say you should get another small/teeny E just because Es are known to bully PPs and are more aggressive.
EDIT: can you show us a picture of your crab in your hand to see the size so we can give more accurate advice?

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

CallaLily · Post by **CallaLily** » Sat Dec 27, 2014 9:00 am

mariilene wrote: The guide gave me the impression a couple pretty small ones would be okay for awhile.

I'm just extra cautious since making some disastrous mistakes in judging how many crabs in a tank. I do feel strongly that Es need tons of space. They're very active, climbing and digging a lot. But it's just my opinion. Good luck in whatever you decide.

HCA: Hermit Crab Association