No sounds

[NLindsey921]

I've noticed that ever since I adopted out the five crabs that I no longer hear chirping coming from the tank. Is this something that I should worry about? Or is this a good thing?

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[daws409]

I'd say that it's a good thing. They're definitely NOT overcrowded anymore which may have led to the chirping to start with.

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[NLindsey921]

Yeah. But I would check on them-whenever they would chirp but never saw any signs of aggression. Now I kind of miss the sounds they would make.

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[GotButterflies]

Sometimes I hear chirping and nothing is going on in my tanks...(That I can see above ground anyway)

[NLindsey921]

My tank just seems so lonely without their constant noises

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[Kermie16]

Only time I heard chirping in my tank is when my hand got too close to one of their hideouts With 5 in a 55g, they all have their own "spots". So funny! I know every night I look forward to hearing some shell clanking. That is a soothing, happy sound to me:) I can only imagine how different it must feel for u, NLindsey921! It must have been a difficult decision to make but u did a good thing making more room for everyone! Hang in there!!


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[mool]

I've never heard my crabs chirp and my stocking level is similar to Kermie16's. I have 6 in a 55 gallon (two are jumbo); and 7 micro-small in a 40 breeder.

I think you've reduced the stress level and thus the chirping. There is also the possibility that you re-homed the one who was doing all the talking.

[NLindsey921]

That is a possibility. I didn't even think of that. The sounds were so different I just assumed it was a combination of crabs. Maybe it was only one or two that I rehomed that was making all the noise. I do hear the clanking all the time but it use to be so calming to hear the chirping. I miss it.

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[LadyJinglyJones]

Did they use to make the soft clucking noise, or the higher pitched chirps?

[GotButterflies]

I would be concerned about higher pitched chirps. Mine chirp really faint. You can barely hear them.

[NLindsey921]

They would make loud and soft and any where in between. Sometimes it would sound like a cricket. Others times it would sound like a frog croak. I would check a lot when i heard it but nothing was ever going on.

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[GotButterflies]

I'm always around my tank, and my house is relatively quiet when my son is at school so perhaps that's why I hear mine. My Hermit crabs are vocal - I love it. I personally cannot stand background noise. Drives me bonkers.

[LadyJinglyJones]

Heya!

I have a theory as to why the bunch you still have aren't as chatty... and it has to do with shells.

I think the crabs you adopted out might have had noisy shells. (Also, those crabs may have just been into sound making a little more than your current batch.)

This explanation has more to do with 'how' than 'why' sound is made. And I could be completely wrong.

So I've been reading any old scientific papers I can find about Coenobita species, and found one from 1990, by M Imafuku & H Ikeda. It concerns the way chirping is generated by C. purpureus (blueberries).


Backround (skip if too boring):

The major theory about how they made sound was originally that they stridulated (like crickets) using a ridged bit on their claw that they rubbled with their hind legs. But not all species that chirp had the ridged bit on the claw, so there were questions.

What they found was that the crabs used the hard bits at the very end of their abdomens, called uropods, to make the chirping sound. The crabs would very rapidly slide back and forth within their shells, flicking or rasping the uropods against the columela (the internal pillar of the snail shell that goes though the centre). When the crabs backed completely into the shell, the uropods had no room to move, and chirping stopped. Different shells seemed to produce different frequencies of sound. Temperature was a factor too - higher temps caused more rapid sounds.

My wild surmise:

Crabs modify their shells, making them thinner & sometimes eliminating most of the columela of the shell all together. It seems logical that some shells will be a lot easier to make noise with. I think you may have inadvertently got rid of the noisier shells... especially if some of your current guys are in older shells.

Just a thought!

[NLindsey921]

Wow. That's so cool. I would never have thought to think of it like that. It's entirely possible.

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[GotButterflies]

That makes a lot of sense! My crabs aren't interested in the shell shop (other than to poo )