Loneliness

[Ginger]

Hi all,

I have a nice big 160L/40g tank, with 3 small crabs and one large. Trust me, it is not a lot when only two smalls are above ground. Because it is such a large tank, they don't meet up as much as they would in a smaller tank, thus it lead me to wonder if they were lonely. Any thoughts?

Thanks, Ginger.

[aussieJJDude]

From what I have gathered with my aussies, they not as social as other crab species. I never really witness them hanging out in groups, sleeping together or just acknowledging each other.
However whether they do this when we are not "around".... If they were lonely, they would probably look for one of their buddies. Most likely you noticed them hanging out more due to a small space for them to get away from each other, hence a larger tank means more leg space!

[Ginger]

Thanks for the reply Aussie! I certainly hope mine appreciate their leg space, it's alot to maintain sometimes!

Huh! I guess everyone's crabs are different, but when mine are all up I sometimes see them all sitting together wiggling their antennae in some form of communication, but other times they will all be in seperate corners of the tank.

[appps]

I find mine have favourite spots for them to hang out, mainly on top of our big rock. They tend to gather there and at the front of it. I think if yours wanted company then they would probably have similar favourite hangouts where they could catch up. I wouldn't worry too much. I think they can find each other pretty well when they want to.

[Ginger]

Thanks for your reply appps, I switch my tank around quite a bit, so there's never really any fixed spot around a particular ornament, but they often like to gather up near the right wall, which is the wall beside the window where it is warmer during the day.

They are such interesting little critters, my relatives often have a quick glance around the tank, make a quick comment and move on the admire the fish for a while, but when you are with the crabs constantly, you notice their behaviour and personalities so much more!