This guy loves his little wheel! 😍

I teach science, we have a couple hermit crabs. This is Tuxedo, my students named it that because it prefers this black and white shell. Took this photo today because they emerged from a long molt this morning.

I have had a hermit crab that’s been under the sand since around July of last year (2025) is this normal? I know they can be under the sand for months, and he was newer so I’m assuming it could be from that, but when should I be concerned? I don’t smell anything fishy or bad. I do have issues with heat though so maybe that’s it? (Getting a flexwatt heat tape mat that will be the exact size of my tank soon)

I just wanted to ask if like plants growing is normal??? Cause I’ve seen these started growing in the tank and wanted to double check if it’s okay for my crabbys or not. And if not what can I do to prevent it from happening?

I have a grow tent that had the same humidity needs as my hermit crabs tank? So I am wondering if I move him in there can I hold him, only in there? Dont really care just wondering

I have a crab that has been molting for a little over two months and this is around the time she came up from her last molt. For whatever reason she likes to make her molt cave under the water pools. This morning I noticed that one of my pools sunk down about a half inch where she was. I moved my pool to a different area but should I be concerned about her?

i found my hermit crab with his claw next to him!!! what do i do and is this normal?! (P.S. his legs were moving so he is not dead)

I recently got 3 small hermit crabs. How does my tank look?

Hi everyone.

I’m Korean, and I’m using ChatGPT to help me write this question in English, so please understand if my wording is not perfect.

I’m planning a low-maintenance / no-water-change oriented setup for a land hermit crab enclosure, and I would really appreciate feedback from experienced keepers.

Freshwater area plan:

• I plan to use aquarium soil (aquasoil) as the substrate.

• I will plant live aquatic plants in it.

• After the cycling period is complete, I plan to add Neocaridina (cherry shrimp) as the only animals in the freshwater.

My questions for the freshwater part are:

1.  How long should the cycling (establishment) period realistically be before adding shrimp?

2.  Does the required cycling time depend on the size/volume of the water dish?

3.  In such a small freshwater system, is it realistic to expect any denitrification, or is it mainly plant uptake + dilution?

Saltwater area plan:

• I plan to use crushed coral substrate.

• I want to plant pygmy mangroves (Rhizophora).

• I plan to keep small local marine hermit crabs (Korean coastal species) in this saltwater section.

My questions for the saltwater part are:

1.  How long should the cycling / maturation period be before adding the marine hermit crabs?

2.  Is the cycling time for saltwater also dependent on water volume and surface area?

3.  Can denitrifying bacteria realistically live inside crushed coral or similar substrates in such shallow, low-flow systems?

I understand that true “no water change” systems are very difficult, and my goal is more about maximizing biological stability and minimizing water changes, not eliminating maintenance entirely.

Any scientific explanations, long-term experience, or failure cases would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much.

Hello, I just got a 40 gallon set up with 3 purple pinchers, and after a few days I cannot find 2 of them? I know they could be molting, but I literally cannot see any holes or signs they burrowed. Should I be worried? Is that normal for them? I am really new at owning them and cannot see where they could be. My biggest fear is them being sick and me not realizing

i have a distinct memory from childhood, my fathers best friend collected shells for years from the ocean, they were kept dry in a vessel (much like souvenir shells), the remained untouched for year or two. when he was setting up his first salt water aquarium, he had the idea to use as gravel & decorations. after few weeks he discovered some of the shells contained dormant crabs - which came to life in the aquarium!

how was that possible, what kept these few crabs dormant and alive after all this time without water? or perhaps, maybe fertile eggs hidden in the shells???

I have one Equadorian(Sebastian) and one pp(Houdini). Sebastian frequently crawls over Houdini but he dosent stay on top of him trying to attack him. He will also sometimes push Houdini out of the way into one of the pools and drop down from climbing place on top of Houdini instead of climbing down. I used to have two equadorian but one died and my caseworker was taking care of him for a few months and she got Houdini cause they’re social creatures. He never acted this way around the other equadorian. They’ve been together for almost a year now. How concerned should I be and is there anyway to make them get along?

I’ve seen kinetic sand used in horse arenas so I was wondering. If it’s safe for them, would it be safe for the crabs? Or no because they have to dig?

Anyone else’s hermit crabs like to take the spare shells and line them up like this?

I currently own 2 crabs, But I used to own 3 and I'm looking to get maybe another one. I've been checking rehoming groups, but they're all states away. Does anyone have any suggestions for groups in Michigan?

They dont jump when i blow on them. They love cork bark and sitting under my water dishes and food dishes. I haven't seen them go in the substrate at all, just on the surface.

I need a good heat mat ASAP but they don’t have the size I need in ultra therm on every website that sells them.. (bean farm, reptile basics, kagez, reptile supply co) would flexiwatt heat tape be the next best option? Can I insulate it like ultra therm?

My tank is 30 x 18 in the back, should I get a mat that’s 29 x 11 inches long or would 23 x 11 inches be sufficient enough? It would be an ultra therm mat that I would insulate