HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I've been raising crabs for about 11 years now, since I got my first two crabs in junior high school. The hobby has stuck with me since then and they're absolutely the coolest animals to care for. I currently have 5 small/medium crabs, with one being a brand new (and tiny) addition to the group. I also just upgraded from a 20 gallon long to a 55 gallon, pictured below. It's not quite finished (I need a couple more inches of substrate and some netting for a second story) but I'm loving it so far and I'm having so much fun renovating it!


I'd love to add a waterfall feature, if anyone has any suggestions on a good one to buy.

Here's the basic costruction of my tank, if anyone is curious:

I use a mixture of live reef sand and Eco earth coco fiber for the substrate. The moss is Zoomed "Terrarium Moss". (Sphagnum, but not peat).
Driftwood for climbing and two seperate shell yards. Fresh and salt water bowls. I feed the crabs river shrimp, oats, dried and fresh fruit, and the occasional vegetable. The humidity and temp normally stay at 79, for each. I am currently using fake plants, although I love some suggestions for live plants, if there are any that could grow in low sunlight.

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Beautiful tank!! Looks so natural:) Love it!

Wow so neat!!

The tank looks really nice!

Have you ever had issues with bacterial blooms from the organisms dying off in the live sand?

I know some members have used small waterfall or fountain features. You might do a search in the DIY threads. I remember that a couple of people had issues with the crabs dragging sand into them and gunking up the lines or filters.

You also have to be careful of flooding or overspray, but it can be done.

Are they able to submerge in their water dishes?

Have you had these crabs for 11 years? I'd love to see pics of them!



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Oh no, my oldest crab is about 6 or 7 though! My methods were, let's just say below subpar, when I got my first crabs. But I loved them so much, I spent my time researching and improving my care. My crabs molt pretty regularly, and they're growing at what seems like a rapid pace. I've never had problems from the live sand, actually. It stays squeaky clean for me. All of my crabs can submerge in the freshwater dish (for now!), but my saltwater dish needs an upgrade.

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Oh awesome!

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Nice set-up! And, yes, netting rules in the crabitat! Packs of fish net are easy to find at Michael's, Jo-Ann and Hobby Lobby for about $6. I have fish net strung around both sides and the back of a 29g and someone is always climbing or napping on it.

It looks beautiful! Instead of a waterfall I put in two deep "pools" for water - one salt water and one fresh. The fresh water pool has a bubbler in it which helps keep the habitat moist throughout the winter months. I dug into the sand and put a plastic Tupperware-type bowl to hold the space, then put another nested bowl on top of it with the water and a mesh "gangplank" at sand level.


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