Hermit crab tankmate!?

[aquaculture]

My hermit crab buries itself and molts and then eats that molt and then hibernates almost all the time leaving me with a 10 gallon tank that looks like a bad rock garden.

When the hermit crab is out and about, mostly at night, it is always exploring, eating, drinking marine and freshwater and being a pet.

So I am in the procees of truning 1/3 of the 10 gallon into water only and have the water area be half marine and half freshwater with sponge filters on each side and each water portion would be 6 inches long x 4 inches wide and 3-6 inches deep at most.

So what would be a good tank-mate?

I am thinking some type of amphibian, crustacean, or insect. The hermit crab setup stays pretty humid also. Can be nocturnal or diurnal or both, just need s to not hibernate as much or as often as the hermit crab and not be a threat in any way to the hermit crab and vice versa.

I was thinking a 3-5 fiddlers or red crabs or roaches or ????

 

[fish keeper]

Maybe an indian mudskipper, if both the sides are brackish water. I wouldn't know if that would really work though. Hope I helped.(=

 

[Gummy Walrus]

good question, i don't think there is much.

 

[ballinouttacntrol]

why do you only have one hermit crab? doesn't really change the fact that they're nocturnal.....won't your hermit crab drown its self if you have part of the tank water?

 

[aquaculture]

Well with the water one side is freshwater and the other is full blown marine saltwater. Hermits like to make they're own mix of brackish water for they're gills.

No drowning, it only needs to be able to climb in and out of the water as it wishes, they do breath using gills. even the land hermit crabs. and being nocturnal is fine with me, that is when I am usually home anyways. I thought about getting more hermit crabs but they to would end up hibernating to often.

 

[Gummy Walrus]

why do you only have one hermit crab? doesn't really change the fact that they're nocturnal.....won't your hermit crab drown its self if you have part of the tank water?

They live by water in wild, and have natural instincts that make them well aware if they are drowning.

 

[ReelBigFish]

The only acceptable tankmate for a land hermit crab is more land hermit crabs. These guys live in huge groups in the wild. You should add one or two more at least.

Have you tried moving everything in the enclosure around? Hermit crabs enjoy a change of scenery every now and then.

 

[aquaculture]

yep, moved stuff around but, it keeps hibernating. At least I know mine molts during the hibernation period so at least when i do see him he has a nice new exoskeleton.

 

[ReelBigFish]

yep, moved stuff around but, it keeps hibernating. At least I know mine molts during the hibernation period so at least when i do see him he has a nice new exoskeleton.

Sounds like it might be shy. Have 15 minute handling periods with it a few times and try feeding it the same time every day. My crabs learned when I was feeding, and would be all over the dish when it was feeding time.

 

[Gene0514]

some cerith snails for the saltwater part
some pond snails for the freshwater part
lol
Not much you can put in like 1 gallon of water
maybe cherry shrimp if you plant it idk