Wanting to get friends for my Gladys.

[hthecvt]

I have a lone crab right now in a 50 gallon tank.

I know they are very social creatures and she used to have friends, but they have all died.

I put an ad on Craigslist seeing if anyone needed to part with their crabs before I go buy some from a pet store. :/

How do I intro crabs? I have stress coat.

I'm so so so so worried the new crabs will kill Gladys somehow. I am so in love with her and I would be devastated.

Any advice appreciated!

Bonus pics of Gladys!



Hanging from the tank top like a weirdo.

[megmaholm]

I understand being worried about introducing new crabs, but as long as you have good conditions (proper substrate depth and consistency, variety of yummy foods, lots of shells, etc) there's no real need to stress over it. When I introduce a new crab I just give them a quick bath in the tank's freshwater and plop them in the tank. You can expect some basic dominance displays like antenna wars, etc.

If you do get a new crab and it seems injured and/or came from really poor conditions, you can iso them for a few days so they can stuff their face with food, change shells at their leisure, etc. If you're really concerned you can even let them go through a molt in an iso tank before you introduce them to the main tank.

[wodesorel]

Where are you at? I can't remember off the top of my head, but do you have an adoption posting here? Some areas of the country see a lot more adoptions than others.

[hthecvt]

I am in Madison, WI.

I have about 4 inches of damp cocohusk substrate and 2 heat lamps. My tank is around 80% humidity at all times and around 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit. From what I've read, that's good? Haha.

I have 4 shells in there now for Gladys, but would obviously get more for more crabs. I'm thinking 5 in the 50 gallon would be awesome.

UGH I JUST LOVE GLADYS SO MUCH

[wodesorel]

Your substrate is a little on the shallow side. 6 inches is the recommended minimum, and they need more the bigger they get. Since Gladys is an E, she would do much much better with 10 inches or more, even at her size! Es loves to dig, and there can be issues with other crabs finding them while they molt if they aren't given enough substrate. Adding playsand to the cocofiber (it's soft and crumbly, not chunky - right?) is inexpensive, 50 pounds for around $3, and is very natural for them. It will also hold tunnels better for her as well.

We just had an adoption in Madison two weeks ago! If another comes up, I'll let you know.

[hthecvt]

So, I found this super awesome privately owned reptile shop today and picked up 3 friends for Gladys!

They all appear super healthy. Came right out of their shells. Very active. Bright-eyed. Healthy antenna.

I dipped them in the fresh water and they are now exploring their new home!

I'll get pictures eventually. I want them to settle in first.

Oh! I also grabbed more shells!

[hermitcrab101]

I see in one of the pictures, you have a painted shell in your crabitat. I highly recommend you get rid of or remove the paint off the shell. The paint on painted shells, usually chips off and is eaten by the crab. The paint could potentially kill the crab if eaten.

[hthecvt]

What's a good way to remove the paint?

[hthecvt]

So Gladys and one of the new guys met. The new guys went into his shell and she was moving him all around and investigating. Is this normal?

[hthecvt]

Is she trying to rip him out of his shell? Omg these crabs.

[megmaholm]

You can remove paint by boiling the heck out of the shell and then scraping/peeling it off.

She may just be checking him out. Is she reaching into the shell? Is there any chirping or pinching going on? If she won't leave him alone, take her and put her on the opposite end of the tank.

[hthecvt]

I boiled those shells and got almost all of the paint off after scraping. I'm going to get some nail polish remover and try to get the rest.

She was just checking him out.

[hthecvt]

Here's her new friends!

This is Gladys with Pearl chilling behind her.


Maude!


Oswald!


Maude, Oswald, Gladys and Pearl all hanging out!