Hermit crab tank and more?

Zooylew · Post by **Zooylew** » Wed Jan 21, 2015 12:05 pm

Hello!So Just to let everyone know we have added a new addition to our hermit crab family. Now Obi Wan is a lot bigger then the others. He is definitely a boy with an attitude. Anyway I was wondering if any one could tell me the inside and out on Hermit crab behavior and how to tell if their fighting? About the cage now we have all four in a ten gallon and they will be upgrading to a 30 as soon as I can get my uncles cocking gun to reseal the tank. It's not a wide tank it's a tall tank. and I'm trying to figure out a way to use all the space. Does any one have any tips on how to do it?

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 5:24 am

@Zooylew, hermitcrabs are very social creatures unlike their name suggests because they live in colonies of up to a thousand out in the wild, they depend on being such large groups to guarantee their safety from predators and to insure that they get a fair shot at new shells which are constantly being swapped in large groups not to mention the fact that they eat better in large groups a solitary hermitcrab may not find as much food as often as one who is a group.The group dynamic is one that is essential the hermitcrabs survival and therefor they have adapted over the last several thousand years to being gregarious by nature so most encounters between hermitcrabs are either meet and greets where they sniff each other with their antenna and kind of bump each other around to establish who is dominant in the group.The other kind of interaction is not so group oriented and has been called many things by many people but simply put its aggressive overly aggressive, bumping contests can quickly turn ugly where one crab stand up in a defensive posture and flares its legs way out to make itself seem larger than the others and therefor stronger this is usually met with the same behavior from the other tank mates they will meet head on and then posture like this waving the larger foreleg at each other as if to say back off and this can be escalated even further to bullying where one crab is literally knocking others around pushing them from the food or water preventing them from getting their fair share or even knocking them off their perches.Hermitcrabs who are fighting will chirp it will either be long and drawn out which is a will you stop kind of thing or a rapid succession of short chirps which is an alarm signaling distress the crab using this chirp feels in danger which means the situation has gone too far for its comfort.Shell fights happen when there aren't enough properly sized empty shells laying around which will drive the crab who is most in need of a new shell to stealing one from a fellow tank mate while he or she is still wearing it, unfortunately hermitcrabs don't give up their shells that easily so the thief has to make the current occupant give it by either attempting to pull it out which never works out for the occupant or rocking the shell so violently that the occupant flees in terror.If you see one crab spinning, rocking or shaking another crab thats a shell fight and is either going to end up with one crab pulled in half or abandoning its shell if it chooses the latter it will just wait until the aggressor has switched shells and then will claim the bullies old shell in this scenario neither crab is harmed and they both walk away with new shells.Hermitcrabs who have been abused in the past tend to be violent sociopaths who can not be rehabilitated to the social life because they have this inexplicable urge to kill anything that goes into their tank including tank mates this is a condition that stems from the crab being kept by itself and neglected by the owner for far too long which causes psychological damage to the crab which can not be repaired.Nutritional deficiencies can also lead to cannibalism, hermitcrabs will turn on each other for a meal if something is missing from their diet this is the only means they have of addressing the issue but this can be stopped or even prevented by offering a steady varied high quality diet.The tank doesn't need to be water tight since a minimal amount of water is necessary most of us use old second hand leakers that were free so you don't really need to be worried about re-sealing the tank unless its a structural issue like a cracked pane of glass.To get the most use out of a tall tank you can do extra levels using things like corner shower caddies or even hemp netting to allow for usage of the extra vertical space.

Zooylew · Post by **Zooylew** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 10:01 am

Thanks! I haven't seen anything like that happen with any one besides Obi pushing someone away from the food dish. I'm going to reseal it due to the fact that I was going to use it for my goldfish and I have removed ALL of the silicone because we needed to reseal it anyway. But it's drying right now and they should be moved into the tank in a week at the most.

Laurie LeAnn · Post by **Laurie LeAnn** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 8:36 pm

If you corner caddy won't stay stuck up on your tank go to the cake decoration section and you can buy the pilars they work great for support. I use bought wood sticks from pet stores to lead up to them and huge rocks to anchor them against the glass. Then other chunkier woods to go across the tank to make a bridge. My 55 gal is tall and narrow

Zooylew · Post by **Zooylew** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 6:50 am

okay I'll try that