Crab grabbing onto other’s shell and holding on

Hollym2247 · Post by **Hollym2247** » Sun Jul 11, 2021 7:34 am

Thanks gotbutterflies. I cleaned both pools, filled the calcium & mineral dish, added shrimp, dried fruits and seeds and rearranged the tank yesterday to give more open room and improve hides and vertical options. We’ll see how it goes!

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DragonsFly · Post by **DragonsFly** » Sun Jul 11, 2021 3:09 pm

Yes, that looked like Stripes either chasing another male away from Teeny, or possibly the new one is also female, so he went off after her, too. If nobody is offering outright aggression toward another (grabbing & shaking, pinching legs or antennae, etc.), I would just "let crabs be crabs".

(Just don't add any more to further complicate relationships and intensify resource competition!) Best wishes!

HermitCrabCHICA · Post by **HermitCrabCHICA** » Sun Jul 11, 2021 3:49 pm

I cant see the pic

Hollym2247 · Post by **Hollym2247** » Sun Jul 11, 2021 7:19 pm

DragonsFly wrote:Yes, that looked like Stripes either chasing another male away from Teeny, or possibly the new one is also female, so he went off after her, too. If nobody is offering outright aggression toward another (grabbing & shaking, pinching legs or antennae, etc.), I would just "let crabs be crabs". (Just don't add any more to further complicate relationships and intensify resource competition!) Best wishes!

Stripes is still sitting holding Teeny’s shell from the back., hiding in the foliage. It has been days. She did go sit and eat yesterday evening without him. So weird. Now Brownie, my other big one, is out running around playing king of the hill.

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HermitCrabCHICA · Post by **HermitCrabCHICA** » Mon Jul 12, 2021 7:13 am

I dont see the image

Hollym2247 · Post by **Hollym2247** » Mon Jul 12, 2021 5:30 pm

Mating?

Green arrows both point to parts of Stripes, who seems to be lying on his back. Stripes’ legs are purple/brown, Teeny’s legs are orange. Pink circle points out where Teeny is being the leaf, on top of Stripes who is the much larger crab.

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HermitCrabCHICA · Post by **HermitCrabCHICA** » Mon Jul 12, 2021 5:34 pm

It looks like he is trying to take him out of his shell? It kind of looks like mating. I am not sure.

Post by **aussieJJDude** » Mon Jul 12, 2021 5:48 pm

Is the green shell stripes?

Hollym2247 · Post by **Hollym2247** » Mon Jul 12, 2021 5:53 pm

aussieJJDude wrote:Is the green shell stripes?

Yes
Stripes (the big one) was stretched out belly up for quite a while with Teeny over him.

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Hollym2247 · Post by **Hollym2247** » Mon Jul 12, 2021 5:56 pm

5 minutes ago they rolled over like this.

Now Stripes looks like he’s guarding Teeny.

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DragonsFly · Post by **DragonsFly** » Tue Jul 13, 2021 8:58 am

If there's no aggression happening, it looks most like mating behavior--Stripes trying to keep any other males from getting to Teeny. As long as Teeny is able to get food and water, I'd just let it go. And if it is mating behavior, you can congratulate yourself on having very good conditions!

Hollym2247 · Post by **Hollym2247** » Tue Jul 13, 2021 11:52 am

No croaking, pinching or tapping. Lots of guarding and alertness of my other bigger crab and that one in the B&W shell. My other two smaller ones have been hiding out in the lower level moss pit.

This tank has been very stable with good conditions for years! Other than changing water and food, it’s very low maintenance.

I’m just letting it ride at this point. Hopefully they’ll all be fine.

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DragonsFly · Post by **DragonsFly** » Tue Jul 13, 2021 6:01 pm

Best wishes; do come back to this thread and let us know if and how things change!

HermitCrabCHICA · Post by **HermitCrabCHICA** » Thu Jul 15, 2021 9:00 am

I hope you get some baby hermies in the end!

Hollym2247 · Post by **Hollym2247** » Thu Jul 15, 2021 9:29 pm

HermitCrabCHICA wrote:I hope you get some baby hermies in the end!

Oh I won’t, they have to be born in the ocean or really equal conditions. Teeny won’t even let me see if she has eggs.

I just hope my crabbies continue to live together in peace. They’ve all been so busy and vigilant this past week.

Here’s 5 of them. 6 live here since my mom passed away two months ago. I may have to add space or set up a second tank.

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HCA: Hermit Crab Association