Isolation Tank- is it necessary?

[adef99]

Hi! I have a 20 gallon tank and originally got two hermit crabs on March 14th. Sadly, one passed away shortly after. I've been wanting to get another one. However, I believe my current hermit crab is beginning his molting process. I just read today that they should have an isolation tank while molting, I have never heard of that before. I don't have the financial means to set up another tank.... if I got a smaller "kritter keeper" thing to put in my 20 gallon tank, how would the substrate be deep enough for him? Or fit food or water dishes in there? Is my tank spacious enough for two crabs to be in there while one is molting?

[CrabbyLover77]

Hi!

You should not have to isolate a crab when it's molting (unless an emergency happens during the molt, like a bacterial bloom or flood, where it would be necessary to move crabs out of the main tank). As long as you have plenty of sand castle consistency substrate, 6" deep or 3x the height of your largest crabby, there should be plenty of room for more than one crab to molt at a time. I have 5 smalls in my 20 gal, and only 1 has been moving on the surface.


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[adef99]

Thank you so much!!! This helps me a lot Sorry another question, what if my one crab is molting and my new one attacks him or disturbs him or something? Is that a common thing to happen?

[CrabbyLover77]

Thank you so much!!! This helps me a lot Sorry another question, what if my one crab is molting and my new one attacks him or disturbs him or something? Is that a common thing to happen?

You're welcome!
If there was an attack, you would have to separate the molter that was attacked/disturbed. This is a possible scenario, but is less likely to happen when housed in good conditions. Make sure your sand/eco earth is like I mentioned in my other post. Also, be sure they always have constant access to protein and calcium. This will make cannibalism and/or attacks unlikely.

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[adef99]

Thank you so much for all your help!!!

[CrabbyLover77]

No problem!

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[Motörcrab]

CrabbyLover77 gave you good advise. Make sure your substrate is deep enough at minimum of 3 times deeper than your largest crab or 6" inches. Whichever is greater.

Offering your hermits a healthy balanced diet will also help your other molting crabs from becoming dinner.

As long as you meet both those conditions you shouldn't have any molting concerns. With being new to hermits I highly suggest checking out our care guides for more information. They are a great resource that cover just about everything crab related!

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... .php?f=120

The basic care, and food guides will be the most helpful to you now!

[mool]

I wanted to add that isolation/quarantine tanks for new crabs used to be a thing (a strong recommendation). A lot has changed since I first started keeping crabs circa 2008. We used to say:
-metal and plastic of any kind inside the tank was deadly
-substrate needed to be changed or sterilized by baking regularly
-poop needed to be scooped
-mold needed to be removed
-new crabs needed to be quarantined for "x" amount of time
-molters needed to be isolated
-etc.

As we learn more about them, we've learned that some of our hard rules were based on junk science, "if it's necessary for fish/other animals, it must also be necessary for hermit crabs."

About the only things that haven't changed since I've been keeping crabs are: water still needs to be declorinated; they still need fresh and salt water; and temp/humidity guidelines are the same. Literally everything else has changed! Deep substrate has also always been a thing, but how deep and what mixture has varied wildly. It has been everything from 100% play sand to 100% Eco Earth. My current tank sub was mixed about 5-6 years ago at a 50:50 mixture. The crabs are fine.

Some of my posts to a forum when I first started were met with terse answers.
Me: Can I fee them snakeskin?
Them: Only if you want to kill your crabs.

Me: Can I use plastic bowls?
Them: Only if you want to kill your crabs.

Me: Is is okay to use a tiny piece of metal in the tank?
Them: Only if you want to kill your crabs.

Me: Can I go two days without changing out the food and water?
Them: Only if you want to kill your crabs.

Me: Do I have to have corner guards and a sub floor?
Them: YES!!! Absolutely necessary if you want to prevent escapes and floods. No exceptions!!!
Me: But they're made of plastic!?!?!?
Them: You idiot.

After rescuing 100's of crabs at once; I found my own way using the foundation of heat/humidity; and dechlorinated fresh/salt water. I'm very hands off and all but one of those crabs survived.