Is 4 too crowded for 20g?

[Maliblue]

Hi all, I currently have a 20g tall with a large E and a medium PP. I used to have a smaller PP too but I believe she died or was eaten during her last molt . Anyway, I know its good to have at least two of the same species. I was planning on getting another E, but then my PP would be the only one of its kind. Would it be better to get both another E and a PP, or would I be overcrowding the tank?

[megmaholm]

I think you'd be overcrowded with crabs that size - Es especially need a lot of room and don't handle crowding well at all. Personally I wouldn't keep Es in anything less than a 40 gallon - I'd look at upgrading your tank before adding more crabs They do need a species buddy but I think it could end badly in a smaller tank.

[Bonk]

I would be agreeing with megmaholm here, you may be overcrowding - better safe than sorry. I own a 40g and I think it's the perfect size for a decent amount of crabs where they can comfortably live and grow a bit. Personally I picture all my crabs sitting up visible in the tank and I approximate whether they will physically look comfortable. A 'tall' tank usually restricts this limit more obviously because of the lesser floor space.

[Maliblue]

I would like to upgrade my tank to a 40g sometime in the future, I'm just not sure when I'll be able to. I had originally planned on getting 2 or 3 small crabs at first. But when I saw that large E with his broken and horribly painted shell I just couldn't turn away, and I knew nobody else would choose him. He was closer to a medium when I got him (about a year ago). I know 20g isn't the ideal size for him, but that's all I have room for currently (at least for the next month or so). He does interact with the PP though, mainly by nudging and pushing, pecking order stuff I think. If I do get one more crab it will most definitely be a small one, I just hate seeing one all alone when the other is molting and such.

[wodesorel]

If you're already questioning if one has been eaten, it's not a good sign! Adding more to that will just cause more trouble and lead to another dead crab if that was indeed what happened.

[Maliblue]

Yea you're probably right. I'm not 100% sure she was eaten but all three crabs had gone down to molt at the same time and that one just never came up. There was never any fishy smell so I just decided to wait it out for about 4 months, still nothing. I've dug around a bit but still haven't found her shell. I'll have to try again now that nobody is molting.

Edit: So I decided to dig around the tank some more. Found her shell in a completely different place than I thought she buried.. It was full of sand but I cleaned it out and found some bits of crab and a leg. Needless to stay im a bit mortified. I guess I had delayed digging up the tank for this reason. I went and buried her shell and what was left of her. That was her 2nd molt with me. I want to blame myself but I know this type of thing couldve have happened no matter what. I guess one of the hardest things about being a crab parent is dealing with things like this. RIP Juniper, I just wish I could have done something to save her.

[landlubber]

Just to be sure, did you look reallllly carefully into her old shell? There have been several times a crab, especially a molter, had retracted so far back that I couldn't see them.

[Maliblue]

Yep, I cleaned the whole shell out, she definitely couldn't have been in there, the sand was packed pretty tightly into it. Playing with my other two crabs has made me feel a bit better.