HCA: Hermit Crab Association

So a "friend" knows I am into hermit crabs. She was *ever so nice* and found one on the beach for me! She dopped him off in a dirty ice cream container without water or food. I explained to her:
1- don't get people pets.
2- MHC and LHC are not the same.
3- even if they were I do not have room for one.
4- what the heck man???
5-don't keep any animal in a dirty ice cream container.

I tried to give the little guy to several pet stores. They will not take him because he was taken from the beach and could be sick. Valid. I really nice pet shop owner helped me with a little set up for the guy. My question is:

1-do you still need to feed them fruit and veg like LHC's? They sold me some freeze dried lobster.
2- I do not have an agile source. So how can I give him what he needs.
3-does he need cuddlefish bone like my LHC's?
4- what else do I need to know?

1. From what i gather they mostly carnivorous and scavengers. You can try and see if he is interested... but i imagine the staple of his diet would be fish food, such as sinking pellets. One i reccomend is new life spectrum... which has had great success for many aquarists....
2. Can things be shipped to your door?
3. No. The calcium intake is in the water, if you have marine grade salt water it should contain all the nessercary elements and minerals....
4. If you have a decommissioned fish tank and it has some supplies use them... basics are live rock, sw and a way to move water to decrease stagnation.... i suggest checking out the fish forums especially ones for marine or reef aquaria...

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Oh my!!!good luck!!


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I used to have a saltwater tank and they also like the algae strips for fish. Be careful not to dirty the water - they are sensitive to it. Good luck!

Hi! So I have had a thin stripe marine hermit from Galveston (people found it in a shell) for about a year now...

They need a saltwater tank setup.

Bare bones basics are: 10 gallon tank (they can grow quickly)

10 gallons of RO water (you can get this at a local aquarium store, ours sells it for .35 a gallon, OR you can just buy the cycled salt water.)

1lb of live rock or sand for every gallon of water.

Heater (water needs to at least be in the 70's)

Powerhead for moving the water or an airstone and pump. (I have a small tank rn and am upgrading as I have funds so I have an airpump.)

Roshi eats brine shrimp (my son dropped a pinch of eggs in the tank and they hatched...omg did they hatch...)

He eats out of our hand; we tend to use chopsticks to feed him bits of dried squid, fish, and seaweed. He likes most dried veg too.

They are pretty hardy as Roshi has lived in his current setup for longer than I'd like to admit but I was in a wreck a few months ago and my car repairs are costing me.




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I had a red legged hermit crab for 4 1\2 years. The apartment manager said that the crab has to be rehomed cause the tank was too big (limit to10 gallon aquarium) and I had a 20 gallon long.
I purchased saltwater from my local saltwater fish store and kept a 5 gallon jug of RODI water for top offs. I had a HOB (hang on back) filter for a 40 gallon tank, 18 pounds of live rock, 30 pounds of live sand, extra shells and a power head.
I fed him tropical fish flakes, algae waffers, seaweed, and San Francisco Bay Brand Frozen Marine Cuisine (which I still have). When I took him to my local saltwater fish store; the employee's said that they never seen a red legged hermit crab that big (the crab fit the bottom of a small jif peanut butter jar). This crab is the reason I became interested in crabs. I read everything I can find about crabs.
Good Luck and enjoy your crab !!!!!!!

This is all great information. Thankfully a friend of mine will be going to the beach in about a month so he will returned to freedom!

I have an extra heating pad so I will put that on today. I will try out different foods. He is not very interested in the shrimp. He is enjoying tearing up the tank and moving everything and is quite feisty!

Giner13 wrote:Oh my!!!good luck!!


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My reaction exactly :roll:

Do not use a heating pad on an aquairium! It's uneven heating and can cause the glass to crack. You have to use an aquarium heater that goes in the water.

wodesorel wrote:Do not use a heating pad on an aquairium! It's uneven heating and can cause the glass to crack. You have to use an aquarium heater that goes in the water.

It is a plastic 10 gallon tank. Do you think it will be fine?

I had no idea about the glass! I will tuck that info away.

It's really not recommended, the water acts as an insulator so the heat doesn't spread evenly and it will cause a hot spot. Having the aquarium heater inside where the water flow is keeps the tank at an even temperature.

I contacted my local Fish and Wildlife services after we got Roshi because we wanted to return him to the beach and were told that unless we were certified wildlife rehabilitators that we should not return him to the beach.

They said that any parasite or illness picked up in captivity could affect the wild population and environment and there was no way to determine what they could come across at home.



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He is by himself so I do not think he could get anything.

Do they live on the beach, beach or more in inlets?

Yes. But when setting up the tank he would of potentially caught diseases. Protection of wild populations IMO from alien diseases and pathogens is important. Remember just because your crab is fine, does mean other crabs or marine organisms would be.
If your unable to care, i reccomend asking aquarists in your area if they could rehome him.

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CrabbyCakes wrote:He is by himself so I do not think he could get anything.

Do they live on the beach, beach or more in inlets?

They're fully aquatic. They end up on the beach and in tide pools but when kept in captivity they have to be kept in a salt water tank.

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