HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hello!

I have a 200G (6' long) aquarium with a screened/mesh top. I use 2 45W nocturnal heat lamps and 2 UVB lights. I have 2 food bowls, 1 salt water bowl, and 1 fresh water bowl. There are 7 large hermit crabs in this tank, 5 strawberrys and 2 PPs. I give them a mix of foods from the Hermit Crab Patch and use Instant Ocean for salt water and ZooMed Hermit Crab for fresh water which I will be changing to a fish brand as soon as it finishes. The tanks coldest spot is currently at 73F/22C and 86% humidity. I use a mix of EcoEarth and play sand for the substrate. The enclosure is outside and I live in Miami, Florida. Please find the photos attached to see the crabitat, also I took this photo while I was cleaning the water and food bowls so they wont be in the photos. Please let me know what I could change to improve their life!

https://gyazo.com/dca1bd8e59ff306dcafe969d7e8ff473
https://gyazo.com/0ffc60cc9be760079aeb45059c6f721a
https://gyazo.com/d07cf3816f0d2a62b053ec6fa8b7c190
https://gyazo.com/3e3285d6889af66499949a46762b8526
https://gyazo.com/6300c4bd2c4410be3c340a16906df01d

Wow, the size really throws the tank out of scale! It really just looks like a 20g long or something (with shallow substrate) if it wasn't for the lights!
Amazing tank, i love all the room they have to crawl around in.

Holy cow!!! Thats a huge tank!!!
How deep is the substrate? (Hard to tell from the pictures since the tank is so big) it should be at least 3x the size of your largest crab, with 6" as a minimum. As long as the fresh and saltwater bowls are deep enough for your crabs to completely submerge and have a way in and out, you should be good there. To take advantage of having so much climbing and floor space, you could buy plastic or silk plants from the dollar store, or from the reptile/amphibian or fish section from a pet store. You can hang these using suction cups, zip ties, command hooks, etc. You could also buy or make fish net and hang it to give them more climbing toys. You can buy it from a craft store (make sure to boil to remove debris, quite often they are actually used) or just buy natural jute/hemp cord and make it, I used this pattern: http://newstitchaday.com/how-to-crochet ... sh-stitch/, although with the size of your tank I think just buying it might be easier. You could use plastic shower basket/caddies to hang up shell shops (basically we just put all of our shells in these to keep them off the substrate so they stay cleaner) or make moss or leaf pits. But on the topic of shells, make sure you have at least 3-6 preferred shells per crab, but more is always better. (Preferred shells are usually based off of their species and what kinds of shells they seem to wear the most, more info here: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 24&t=92552) Other than that, I would say that you're definitely on the right track and I am most certainly jealous of your tank.

So amazing! Im jealous of all the space! Once you start utilizing all that space they will be in love! There are so many great idea here. From shower caddy moss pits and shell shops and on and on it goes!

Congrats!

PinchersAndShells wrote:Holy cow!!! Thats a huge tank!!!
How deep is the substrate? (Hard to tell from the pictures since the tank is so big) it should be at least 3x the size of your largest crab, with 6" as a minimum. As long as the fresh and saltwater bowls are deep enough for your crabs to completely submerge and have a way in and out, you should be good there. To take advantage of having so much climbing and floor space, you could buy plastic or silk plants from the dollar store, or from the reptile/amphibian or fish section from a pet store. You can hang these using suction cups, zip ties, command hooks, etc. You could also buy or make fish net and hang it to give them more climbing toys. You can buy it from a craft store (make sure to boil to remove debris, quite often they are actually used) or just buy natural jute/hemp cord and make it, I used this pattern: http://newstitchaday.com/how-to-crochet ... sh-stitch/, although with the size of your tank I think just buying it might be easier. You could use plastic shower basket/caddies to hang up shell shops (basically we just put all of our shells in these to keep them off the substrate so they stay cleaner) or make moss or leaf pits. But on the topic of shells, make sure you have at least 3-6 preferred shells per crab, but more is always better. (Preferred shells are usually based off of their species and what kinds of shells they seem to wear the most, more info here: http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 24&t=92552) Other than that, I would say that you're definitely on the right track and I am most certainly jealous of your tank.

That's my hardest thing. Since all 7 hermitcrabs in there are Jumbos and 5 of them are Strawberrys they're heavier and its harder for them to climb. Most of my climbing things currently are pretty hard for them. Plus, if I add a shower caddy for shells, it might pop off since the crabs are heavier,

That is hard to work around. Ive had to bracebunder my shower caddies before and sometimes will hang my netting under a corner of it so its still braced. Just incase. Im sure someone else will probably have great ideas for your big guys. Maybe a hamster wheel would even work for them? Either way great tank!

rf9661 wrote:That's my hardest thing. Since all 7 hermitcrabs in there are Jumbos and 5 of them are Strawberrys they're heavier and its harder for them to climb. Most of my climbing things currently are pretty hard for them. Plus, if I add a shower caddy for shells, it might pop off since the crabs are heavier,

I hear you - the majority of my crabs are big heavy piglets and I've struggled with sturdy climbing options. My current tank is a big exoterra with sliding doors in the front, which means I can access everything in the tank without opening the screen lid, and so am able to use fishing line tied to the mesh to add extra support for things like shell shops and moss pits which would otherwise rely solely on suction cups to keep from falling. When I had my previous tank, I got a half-hinged mesh lid (as far as I know they sell them for the majority of standard aquarium sizes) and then was able to use the lid for extra hanging support by planning the tank layout strategically (ie food bowls and pools and other things that had to be accessed regularly would go on one side of the tank, and then my netting, shell shop, moss hammoc on the other, stationary side). I also use a lot of big pieces if cholla, mopani, cork, and grapewood for climbers and the hermies love it. I just make sure to dig the pieces down into the substrate so that they're well-weighted and not going to fall over. Lean them against the glass for extra support if need be. My biggest guy can take a run at any of the wood pieces without me fearing that he'll take a header. On the slightly-pricier end, Magnaturals are a great option for vines, ledges, etc that use super-strong rare earth magnets to hold items in place in your tank. I have a large magnaturals ledge in my crabitat where 2-3 big guys will often congregate to bask under the heat lamp and it's never moved even a hair (I also use the magnaturals feeder ledge for my overweight adult crested gecko and it's been holdin without incident for I think 6 years). If you're feeling more industrious, I know there are a few people on here who have used silicone rods mounted to the inside of the tank with aquarium silicone to allow for sturdy hanging options.. Can't remember who off the top of my head, but a search should come up with something..

Good luck!