Hermit Crab Shells

[mhorgunn]

Okay ... The tank is up and running for a month. And barring the problem solved today (I found that the guys who set up my tank set up the carbon filter in the wrong chamber ... I heve a Red Sea Max) I still have my snails and crabs. But the crabs are at the point where I need to get some new shells. This is the second wave of shell changes. ... but the dont seem to like the ones I offered ...

What should I be looking for in shape or type?

Thanks!

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

When I first put my crabs in my tank, with extra shells, I swear they changed shells once or twice a week for several months. Sometimes they'd keep the new shell, sometimes they'd switch back to the old one. My take of the whole comical situation was that crabs also fall victim to the "grass is always greener" mentality we humans do!

Eventually, they all settled down and found shells they liked. In fact, of the four crabs I still have, they haven't changed shells for the last 6 months... at least.

Soooo... if what I experienced was "normal", I'd say your crabs are just being crabs and they'll eventually settle down. As long as they have extra shells, you should be OK. I don't think they're looking for anything in particular... they're just lookin'!

 

[roka64]

You should get shells that have a larger opening than the one they are in. You can go to craft stores and buy them pretty cheap.