HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Finished the 56g build last night! Here we go

Front View


Top View


Left side, pools, shell shop & tree




Left and a bit of the middle


Center area with cork flat, rock hide and Cholla


Right side; moss pit, cholla, large cork round, 3 mushroom ledges siliconed to the tank (kind of hard to see)


Front view of right side




Overall


I will be adding some crabs in hopefully today! Here are some pics of the kids too!

This fella is king of the 55g right now, he is out and about a lot and is getting used to me, finally! He still runs for the hills in reverse at times, but for the most part he just stares at me like I am a crazy person!




Camouflage crab



She is always trying to climb the glass...always


Hey Barnaby you cute little guy you!



Coco puff has been really active too!

Nom nom nom


Pretty girl came up from her molt!

Peek-a-boo!


little tiny guy who is super shy only comes out in the middle of the night. He is so cute though!


Hope you enjoyed! I will try and get some more pics over the weekend of the crabs enjoying the new set-up!

Simply gorgeous! It looks so tropical and soothing, I'd like to get in there myself !

Oh, love the camouflage crab pics -- talk about hiding in plain sight!

It looks magnificent! I cannot believe how quickly you put that together! All the crabs are just beautiful. I love pic of the little, shy fella peeking out from the tree!

Thanks guys! I love it too. I have two straws in there now that are loving it! Unfortunately, my glass lid cracked so I have an order in for a new one. Hopefully it fits!


Then he changed shells!



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They are adorable!!!


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Krusty Krab wrote:They are adorable!!!


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Thanks! They are lots of fun


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So, now that they are both set up, what do you like better, the 55 or the 56? You've got me really thinking about a 56.......

landlubber wrote:So, now that they are both set up, what do you like better, the 55 or the 56? You've got me really thinking about a 56.......

hands down the 56g! I prefer the width vs. the length. I just feel like you can do so much more (decorating wise) when you have more width. That is what attracted me to the 40g, but I knew once I filled it with all the sub I would need for the straws, I would literally have like 5 inches above ground to work with my cholla pieces would have never fit! I highly recommend the 56g! I am sure your kids would be OK with you going for it!

PS! I had my first straw come up from his molt (boomer) I was SOOOO excited to see him last night. He looks so beautiful and bright. I know straws have a harder time with molts and often don't make it, so I have been on pins and needles. Now I just need the other 5 to surface...

I am so glad to hear that! Congrats on what I am sure will be the first of many straw molts!

landlubber wrote:I am so glad to hear that! Congrats on what I am sure will be the first of many straw molts!

Thanks!! I sure hope so!

Off topic- tell me this isn't the cutest thing... Big boy and little guy sharing the food dish.


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Love that last picture with Big Boy and Little Guy sharing the food dish! Your big fella looks a lot like my Big Enzo (coloring and shell choice) and his best friend is little Charles Paris, less than 1/4 his size!

marandashermies wrote:

landlubber wrote:So, now that they are both set up, what do you like better, the 55 or the 56? You've got me really thinking about a 56.......

hands down the 56g! I prefer the width vs. the length. I just feel like you can do so much more (decorating wise) when you have more width. That is what attracted me to the 40g, but I knew once I filled it with all the sub I would need for the straws, I would literally have like 5 inches above ground to work with my cholla pieces would have never fit! I highly recommend the 56g! I am sure your kids would be OK with you going for it!

PS! I had my first straw come up from his molt (boomer) I was SOOOO excited to see him last night. He looks so beautiful and bright. I know straws have a harder time with molts and often don't make it, so I have been on pins and needles. Now I just need the other 5 to surface...

This might seem like a dumb question...but I'm a pretty new crabber and I just bought a 55 gallon to upgrade to from a 25 gallon. Is there really such a difference between a 55 and a 56 gallon? I'm worried I should have bought the 75 gallon instead, but I can't really afford it at the moment and idk if I would fit in my apt.

Ps. I LOVE YOUR TANK! It's so lovely and well thought out! I love pics of new builds/upgrades.

Pps. What did you attach the cholla wood to with the little zipties? I see them at the top but I can't tell how they stay up lol.

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Crabinski wrote:Love that last picture with Big Boy and Little Guy sharing the food dish! Your big fella looks a lot like my Big Enzo (coloring and shell choice) and his best friend is little Charles Paris, less than 1/4 his size!

thanks! I had to take a pic when I saw them together like that. Its so cute how the bigger ones are so gentle to the little guys. Makes my heart just melt

AleyedtoBuggie wrote:

marandashermies wrote:

landlubber wrote:So, now that they are both set up, what do you like better, the 55 or the 56? You've got me really thinking about a 56.......

hands down the 56g! I prefer the width vs. the length. I just feel like you can do so much more (decorating wise) when you have more width. That is what attracted me to the 40g, but I knew once I filled it with all the sub I would need for the straws, I would literally have like 5 inches above ground to work with my cholla pieces would have never fit! I highly recommend the 56g! I am sure your kids would be OK with you going for it!

PS! I had my first straw come up from his molt (boomer) I was SOOOO excited to see him last night. He looks so beautiful and bright. I know straws have a harder time with molts and often don't make it, so I have been on pins and needles. Now I just need the other 5 to surface...

This might seem like a dumb question...but I'm a pretty new crabber and I just bought a 55 gallon to upgrade to from a 25 gallon. Is there really such a difference between a 55 and a 56 gallon? I'm worried I should have bought the 75 gallon instead, but I can't really afford it at the moment and idk if I would fit in my apt.

Ps. I LOVE YOUR TANK! It's so lovely and well thought out! I love pics of new builds/upgrades.

Pps. What did you attach the cholla wood to with the little zipties? I see them at the top but I can't tell how they stay up lol.

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Thank you! Honestly, when I am doing these builds, I just buy stuff that I like and then put it together as I go. I never have any idea what I am going to do until I start! But I am glad you like it
No such thing as a dumb question! Congrats on the upgrade to the 55g! You must be enjoying all that space compared to the 25g. Have you posted any pics? We would love to see it if you haven't!

The difference between the 55g and the 56g is the footprint of the tank. The 55g is longer and not as wide, where the 56g is not very long but is wide and tall. It has the same footprint as a 40g breeder, but it has more height. So there is a pretty big difference, but both tanks are very nice. I also have a 55g and like it, but when I decorate, I prefer to use items that fill the air space a bit more than the floor space. Its just a personal preference. The 75g is also a VERY nice tank, I was looking into those before I got my 125g. But in the end, decided for just a little more $$ I would go a bit bigger. But at this point, I don't think I can build any more tats, or my floor might collapse! lol. I would have to put them downstairs and that makes it too hard for cleaning, food, maintenance and I am never down there. I think taking care of 3 tanks and 40 crabs is enough work for me!

The Cholla is zip tied to the moss pits and a couple are zip tied to my corner guards. Here is a link to one of my posts regarding the corner guards.http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... ds#p998140 I love them and would be lost with out them! Highly recommend adding them to any new set up. It makes life a lot easier for us human folk. Plus the crabs like to crawl on them and do crab dives into the pools! lol
However, they have to be siliconed to the tank, so you have to do it a few days before adding crabs to the tank. I did mine about a week prior to make sure they were secured and the stinky smell dissipated.

@marandashermies, your new tank is gorgeous!!! I'm inspired.

I definitely want to go with a wide v. long tank now! I'm looking at a Deep Blue 35 gallon cube, 20" in all dimensions; a 40 breeder; or an Exo Terra 24x18x18 (but I'm hesitant about the front opening doors, plus it's the priciest). According to aquariumdimensions.com, Aqueon makes a 50 (36x18x19), but I've never seen it available locally. I love the idea of the 20" cube and I think it would fit our six small/medium hermies for a long while. But the more I look at how crammed our 10 and 20 gallon tanks are, the greedier I get for more floor space! My husband is worried about the heights of the tanks, since my 7-year old reaches inside to help with caregiving.

Tell me about your background! How are people using backgrounds with ultratherms on the back of the tank?

Also, where did you find your plastic plant that looks like philodendron? Our dollar stores only carry single stems, and the vine-like plants at the craft store mostly have small leaves (like bamboo).

Beautiful, beautiful job on your 56!