Land crabs: Do they all need to be kept in colonies?

[Mr.Krabs]

Hi HCA,

Let's keep this brief. I used to keep crabs, had a really nice, established colony around 20-40 crabs big. (Didn't write the numbers down, kinda too late to check now) They died. Not sure how, could of been multiple different causes. Vacation and caregiver wasn't attentive as they claimed, diseases, cannibalistic crab. I don't think I'll ever know the answer to this one.

I didn't want crabs for a long time. I toyed with the thought of setting up a 10g for some hermit crabs, but decided I was just going to do that on emotions and somehow ended up diving into the realm of fish.

And then I was in a pet store, just the other day, and I saw a beautiful crab. A Halloween Moon Crab. Oh wow, did my heart sore with the looks of that beauty. He was incredible. I wanted to pick him up and take him home right away, but I also knew I hadn't researched crabs in a long time and I would have NO idea what I was getting myself into. So I didn't.

Here's the thing.

I don't think I really have the heart to establish a colony of crabs again, certainly not to the size that I did before. I'd like just one crab preferably, maybe two. But, I know Halloween Moon Crab's need at least two, and I'm having trouble finding information on different species of crabs.

I was wondering if anyone here knows if crabs always need to be colonized(something that I can't find the answer to on google), and if not, what are some types of crabs that like to live alone?

Any advice would be useful, even if its a "All crabs need to be kept in groups" situation. I can accept that for now, and maybe get some Halloween Moon Crabs when I'm ready.

[aussieJJDude]

Welcome back!
I can't speak for all species, as I haven't kept them all so its a bit unfair of me to offer my advise as hard fact. But I would say yes, it's probably beneficial to keep them in a group. Many species of crabs are in groups for protection, where through displays or actions help keep each other alive. I don't think halloween crabs have the same "pack mentality" that we associate with the hermit crabby cousin's.

However if he is the only crab in the store, I would recommend you getting him. Better off you, than some pre-teen that thought it looks cool and puts it in their fish tank, filled with suitable tank mates... and of course, no access to air. If needed, you can always get more!

But then again, I pretty sure most of the halloween crab setups I've seen online seem to keep them in solitude... so I'm very clueless. Of course, Ive never seen them so I can really give my ideas of the best care, I can only parrot everyone else!

[Mr.Krabs]

I've been looking at Rainbow and Halloween care the most(as they are most commonly kept as pets), and from what I can tell a lot of them are kept solo as they are more territorial than Hermit Crabs. I was reading on one care sheet that they only had luck keeping multiple in an enclosure if it was 60+ gallons. As you mentioned, the only enclosures I seem to see online have one crab at a time. Very few people seem to keep Halloween crabs in "packs".

Fortunately, the store that is selling the crab is a specialty reptile store. They don't label prices on anything, and it's in a bit of an odd location. A lot of the creatures are only sold to those who have proper knowledge, if I understand correctly. I was in picking up food for my bearded dragon when I saw the crab. I don't think I have to worry too much about them going to a teenager who thinks it looks cool. I think if I want to get another crab I'll most likely be looking at next summer, as I'd like to save up a bit of money a tank that'll keep him/her busy tunneling and exploring. (And summer is much better for transporting in Canada, no risk of them getting too cold from the brief trip of the store to the car)

I'm always surprised at how little information there is about crustaceans in general. However, I decided to look up Carcinologists and judging by the list on wikipedia there are only about 5 currently living, and most appear to be older. It's crazy to think that is just a huge field of zoology that isn't specialized in often.

[soilentgringa]

I would try to find some forums for aquarium keepers. They may also have some members who can point you in the right direction as far as other types of crabs.

[Mr.Krabs]

I did look into that, thanks soilentgringa.

If anyone was lurking and curious about the answer:
Found more information, still limited, pertaining to Halloween and Rainbow crabs(the most common type to keep it seems). Most people keep rainbows alone as they tend to fight if not kept in huge enclosures(60+ gallons seems to be common).

It was stated that Halloween's seem to do better in groups, but they can be kept alone.

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[soilentgringa]

Oh cool! I love the look of Halloween and Vampire crabs, but am overrun with tanks atm.

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