Question: Do large crabs ignore small crabs?

Keg · Post by **Keg** » Sat Nov 01, 2014 6:01 pm

How do Large crabs relate to little crabs? Do they ignore them? Or what?

Geranium · Post by **Geranium** » Sat Nov 01, 2014 11:10 pm

With mine, it depends on the crab. My largest one really is very tolerant of the smaller ones but he seems to really like Talia, they are often snuggled up together. He will push the bigger ones who are bugging her. One of the larger little crabs annoyed him so much he pushed her a couple times but she really was being a pest.

Keg · Post by **Keg** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 3:13 am

Thanks.

Laurie LeAnn · Post by **Laurie LeAnn** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 4:35 am

I had one that was a bully to a bigger one! He would bump him off the climbing rock lol!!

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Mon Nov 03, 2014 12:25 pm

@Keg, its interesting that you bring this up because according to my own observations and anecdotal evidence from other crabbers it seems that the larger crabs act as if they know how much bigger they are than the smaller ones and so do what they can to avoid injuring them.I've personally seen my jumbos go around my smalls, tinnies and micros on purpose instead of either just pushing them out of the way or crawling right over them and that struck me as odd because hermitcrabs of similar size will readily push, roll or crawl right over each other as if they are nothing more than rocks but I rarely if ever see my larger crabs doing this to my smaller ones.I have however seen my little bitty crabs crawl right on top of their larger tankmates and ride on them around the enclosure this seems to be some sort of dominance dispaly where the smaller crab tends to overcompensate for its lack of size and strength by climbing the largest competitor it can find and then riding on it as if to say hey I'm the boss and you will do what I say when I say it.lolI have also noticed the larger the crab the more docile and less confrontational but the opposite can be said of smaller crabs the smaller they are the more aggressive they seem to be with me and their tank mates and again I postulate that this is nothing more than the smaller crabs suffering from Napoleons syndrome.lol

Keg · Post by **Keg** » Fri Nov 07, 2014 9:03 am

I was wondering why a big crab would interact with a little crab.Now I wonder if the little crabs are wilder and sense that the big ones are tame, so they attempt to dominate.I've heard that dogs chase cars as they drive by to dominate the car. It gives them a natural high because the big thing is running away from them.or they just have a crush?