I got my first crabs today! Here they are!

[kcshoopy]

I'd love it if people could definitively identify what species they are

All 4!



This one is the darkest of the mediums. We're calling him Hermes.


This guy is very little and very active!


I think this may be an ecuadorian? I am not sure, he's very small.


The biggest one! He's very shy and timid and easily frightened. I hope he'll warm up soon.

[Rawrgeous]

I'd say purple pinchers, but I know a crabber more experienced with IDing will pipe up if I'm wrong.

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[soilentgringa]

They're all PP.

[Crabinski]

Yep, all PPs. Congrats on the instant colony -- they all look healthy and appear to have all of their limbs so that's a big plus right away.

[kcshoopy]

Thanks everyone! Yeah it seems like every one I've asked has agreed they are all PPs.

I was so flustered this morning because my biggest crab (Shy Guy as we are naming him) changed shells! And not in to any of the bigger shells I had.
He downgraded for a jade turbo. It looks nice on him but I am worried it's a bit small.

Here's some more pictures!

Shy Guy in his new shell.




Skipper! One of the smaller ones.




Hermes! He's very darkly colored and very sweet.




Our fourth crab seems to have buried himself somewhere. I'm not going to go digging him up though. I guess he will resurface when he's comfortable!

[kcshoopy]

And here's a shot of their tank. Not a whole lot going on right now, but it'll do hopefully! We plan on getting some more stuff in the future.

[JulesRolyCrab]

Welcome to the HCA, nice to meet you!!! Aw, you crabs are precious!! Very alert and healthy looking too!

I don't mean to pry, but you you mind if I give some advice? If you do, then feel free to not read the rest of this post, haha!

----
Here is a basic care sheet, which I would definitely check out! Other care sheets (food, humidity, etc) are all over the site, but you seem good in the food regard! Anyway.
http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 51&t=92457

I would definitely recommend more substrate, traditionally an absolute minimum of 6 inches! I know it seems excessive, but it will keel your crabbies alive, with safe molts! You have EcoEarth, right? I can't quite tell, but if so, then big thumbs up. Great tank size too! To increase your substrate easily, I'd buy a bag of washed, undyed play sand (Home Depot). You can get a 50 lbs bag for pretty cheap! Sand mixed with EE allows firmness of the sub for tunneling (sand) while maintaining humidity (EE).
That being said, you might notice a drop in humidity if you do that. You might already know, but daily (or more, depending on your region) is necessary for your crabs well being, as they breathe through modified gills. Sorry if you already know, just in case! Once you have more substrate, I would place your thermometer/ hydrometer close to the substrate for an accurate reading!
For some reference: humidity should never dip below 70% for extended periods of time, and temp. should remain above 75 degrees F, and below 85.
It seems that you are serving fresh, awesome food for the crabbies, and multiple sources of water, etc. kudos to you for that.

In fact, idk why I'm going on. You have a lovely crabitat, the only (visible) problem is the substrate, which is very, very important. Hopefully this helped, if not, sorry! Great job, and good luck crabbing!!


EDIT: In review of my post, idk if it was totally inappropriate of me to correct you in an irrelevant thread. Sorry if so.
-----

[kcshoopy]

Welcome to the HCA, nice to meet you!!! Aw, you crabs are precious!! Very alert and healthy looking too!

I don't mean to pry, but you you mind if I give some advice? If you do, then feel free to not read the rest of this post, haha!

----
Here is a basic care sheet, which I would definitely check out! Other care sheets (food, humidity, etc) are all over the site, but you seem good in the food regard! Anyway.
http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... 51&t=92457

I would definitely recommend more substrate, traditionally an absolute minimum of 6 inches! I know it seems excessive, but it will keel your crabbies alive, with safe molts! You have EcoEarth, right? I can't quite tell, but if so, then big thumbs up. Great tank size too! To increase your substrate easily, I'd buy a bag of washed, undyed play sand (Home Depot). You can get a 50 lbs bag for pretty cheap! Sand mixed with EE allows firmness of the sub for tunneling (sand) while maintaining humidity (EE).
That being said, you might notice a drop in humidity if you do that. You might already know, but daily (or more, depending on your region) is necessary for your crabs well being, as they breathe through modified gills. Sorry if you already know, just in case! Once you have more substrate, I would place your thermometer/ hydrometer close to the substrate for an accurate reading!
For some reference: humidity should never dip below 70% for extended periods of time, and temp. should remain above 75 degrees F, and below 85.
It seems that you are serving fresh, awesome food for the crabbies, and multiple sources of water, etc. kudos to you for that.

In fact, idk why I'm going on. You have a lovely crabitat, the only (visible) problem is the substrate, which is very, very important. Hopefully this helped, if not, sorry! Great job, and good luck crabbing!!


EDIT: In review of my post, idk if it was totally inappropriate of me to correct you in an irrelevant thread. Sorry if so.
-----

Thank you so much for all the great info!
Most of this I did know but it's always good for a reminder!

I really wanted to add more substrate, but I ran out, and the pet store did not have any more

I plan on adding to at least 6 inches like you said once they restock.
And yep! I mixed it with some play sand It holds in moisture really well and they all seem pretty content to roam around in it.


One thing I am unsure of though is--when I am mixing the EcoEarth with the sand, what sort of consistency should I be looking for? That's something that I don't really see discussed anywhere.. I'm worried I added too much or too little water. There weren't any dry pockets, and it's very moist and sticks to my hand when I touch it. But I know too moist of a substrate can cause mold and other bad things. And too dry, obviously, is not good for crabbies.

[JulesRolyCrab]

Great question! Generally, people agree on a 5:1 ratio of play sand to Eco Earth, and it should be about "sandcastle" consistency. You should be able to stick your finger or a stick down and it should hold its shape. It shouldn't be drippy or crumbly. Just an fyi, mold is not harmful to the crabs, but collapsed tunnels are, which can result from dryness or wetness. From your picture, you have a lot of EE in proportion to sand, which is fine (some crabbers do this) but this could cause very wet/not as good tunneling sub. 5:1 ratio sand:EE is "normal" so to speak for crabbers, but really there are so many-- too many-- ways of crabbing. That being said, I wouldn't wait for a restock on EE, I would just add play sand/buy more play sand, tou are probably good on EE. *thumbs up*

If you have any other questions, I'm totally able to do my best and answer. I haven't done much crabbing, but I've read the caresheets and forums to death, lol. I'm good at being a new crabber, not an expert, haha.

[Giner13]

Your crabitat a looks great & fun to roam!
And your hermies are adorable!! My own Capt. Jack is a sweet guy too & likes to have 'feeler convos' with my fingers. My little Peanut is still a "shy guy/girl" too
Great set up!!


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[kcshoopy]

Ok. I added more substrate, and I took out the big wood tunnel, it was just too massive for their tank. I instead replaced it with a glass jar with some burlap netting around it for climbing on.


Here's some pictures. I'm still having temperature problems, but, the heated blanket is helping.
When I took them all out to add substrate, they seemed okay. All active, if a bit slow. I'm not sure if they're just being crabs, or if they are sluggish.... My smallest is very active, and my largest--Shy guy, who is timid, is also fairly active if left alone for a little bit. The other two mediums are slow and stick to one place.

Tank, with 5.5'' of substrate. Did I mix this correctly? It seems so dark in color compared to other people's subs. It is mostly play sand now.


Upper view

[Hdale85]

That looks very dark, You should have 5 parts sand to 1 part eco earth or say 5 cups of sand to 1 cup eco earth. I had a little 3 gallon bucket I used, I did 1 gallon of eco earth and 5 gallons of sand at a time then mixed. The water needed to make the eco earth seemed to be enough to wet the sand to the right consistency.

Did you use regular play sand?

[kcshoopy]

That looks very day, You should have 5 parts sand to 1 part eco earth or say 5 cups of sand to 1 cup eco earth. I had a little 3 gallon bucket I used, I did 1 gallon of eco earth and 5 gallons of sand at a time then mixed. The water needed to make the eco earth seemed to be enough to wet the sand to the right consistency.

Did you use regular play sand?

yeah, just regular play sand.

[Hdale85]

Hmm well it looks to me like you put 5 parts eco earth to one part sand lol.

[kcshoopy]

Hmm well it looks to me like you put 5 parts eco earth to one part sand lol.

So... It was told to me I needed equal parts play sand and EE. So when I set up their tank originally, I used 2 bags of loose EE ( it was all they had at the store ) and equal parts Play Sand.

This morning I added even more play sand. The substrate before was about 3 inches high, it's now 5.5 inches of substrate with the added play sand. I don't know exact measurements, but, it is probably about 1:1.

Is this a problem?
I have read that a 1:1 sand/EE is fine for them.