How many crabs should I add?

jordan51ayers · Post by **jordan51ayers** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 6:45 am

i've been thinking of buying my 2 PPs, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, some new friends. My tank is a little bit more than 15 gallons and i think I'll have plenty of space. How many crabs should I get at one time? Is adding one at a time a good idea or should i add 3 or 4? I'm also wondering if it is a good idea to get some Ecuadorians? I've heard that theyre alot more active. Should i buy them from a pet store or online? if online what is a good online store? ive heard livehermitcrabs.com is not a very good site. Thanks!

Geranium · Post by **Geranium** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 7:15 am

I can't find the original post by JMT right now but is is the pertinent portion.Crabs per gallon.Now, for rules of thumb, here are my observed limitations.Going by size of shell:Teeny = marbleSmall = quarter-50c pieceMedium = 50c piece-golf ballLarge = golf ball-tennis ballJumbo = baseballThese are my sizes. There is no widely held consensus on what constitutes different sizes.Any crab medium and above needs deeper/weighted water bowls, because they'll topply them when they dig if they are too light.5g: teenies only.10g: 2 large OR 4 medium OR 6 small OR 8 teenie20g: 3 large OR 6 medium OR 9 small OR 12 teenie30g: 4 large OR 8 medium or 12 small OR 16 teenie40g: 5 large OR 10 medium OR 15 small OR 20 teenie55g: 2 jumbo OR 6 large OR 12 medium OR 18 small OR 24 teenie75g: 3 jumbo OR 8 large OR 16 medium OR 24 small OR 32 teenie92g: 4 jumbo OR 10 large OR 20 medium OR 30 small OR 40 teenieThe tank needs to be at least 24in deep before I'd put jumbos in it, since they need 6in+ deep substrate, and big stuff to climb on, and not have the stuff they climb on reach the top, since they are strong enough to push open the lid and escape (ask Christa!)If you have a good second level, you can increase these numbers by 50%, since there is more second-level space to crawl and hide in, and with some of the crabs on the second level, there's more open substrate space to dig in.

Geranium · Post by **Geranium** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 7:17 am

E's are like hyperactive toddlers! I enjoy them but they can be quite a challenge. If you are new to HC ownership, I would wait. They need higher temperature than what you have currently. They are more sensitive to stress.

jordan51ayers · Post by **jordan51ayers** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 2:15 pm

Thanks for the replies! I'm have one small and one medium PP and I'm thinking about adding 3 more small to mediums!

jordan51ayers · Post by **jordan51ayers** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 2:22 pm

Is it okay to buy just one E to gain some experience with them or should I keep them with more of their own species? You mentioned that my crabitat is not the right temperature for E's, what would be an okay temperature for them? I can probably get it to 85 or 90 if I had to.

Geranium · Post by **Geranium** » Tue Sep 09, 2014 2:39 pm

They need a species buddy and if your sub is not deep enough they will dig up molters, they love to dig. Sub needs to be a minimum of 6 inches. I had one E in a tank of PPs and she drove them crazy! Everyone is much happier now that she has some buddies. My Es like both the temperature and humidity to be at 85, they get really sluggish and seem miserable if the either goes below 80. They also need constant access to deep dechlorinated aquarium salt water (instant ocean or oceanic being the better options, can't just use regular aquarium salt, it needs to make essentially sea water).Remember before you add more crabs, they are going to grow, sometimes really quickly! And the new ones will need to be isolated from the current ones for a month, maybe longer.