Paranoid Owners with Crab Attacks!!

[ayianna]

As I read the posts that have occurred in my absence, I see a single recurring thieme...

As owners, you all seem to be deathly afraid of a crab attacking another crab that has recently molted. Please let me ease your fears.

1. Crabs attack one another.
It happens. Most often, it's over a shell fight, but sometimes, very rarely, it occurs when a crab has molted. Accept it as part of real life and move on.

2. Isolation
There seems to be a belief that putting a crab in isolation is the best solution. Not really. You dig up a crab molting to put them in a new place that they aren't particularly fond of or familiar with. Think about it. They're quite comfortable where they are.

3. Surface molts
OMG, my crab molted on the surface, what do I do? ;.;
You put it under some sand and leave it alone like any other molt.

4. Never, ever dig up your crab
Horse$#!&! A crab's exoskeleton has hardened within 24 hours of the minute it has finished its molt to the point at which it is no longer vulnerable to the elements. At this point, its only worries are being crushed by a rock, human foot, or the claws of its tankmates. If you need to move your crab when it has molted and it's been more than a day, you do not need to hesitate to move it, just make sure you rebury it within the tank (preferably in the same area) with its remaining exo.



I personally clean my tank once a week and take ALL of the crabs out for a bath unless they are still shiny from a molt. Within the first 24 hours the fluids around their exoskeleton have not yet dried and it has not hardened. This is a VISIBLE difference from normal exoskeletons!

I have moved crabs, reburied them, taken them out for baths 2 and 3 days after molts, and at no time have my 9 crabs attacked one another during their molt.

6. Well, what happens if it DOES happen?
A. It is a fact of life - things die. Everything has to consume other things to survive, even if we as humans are not happy with what they choose to consume.
B. You have identified an aggressive crab (Which you should have identified by watching their interactions. Crabs that push or pull others around should not cohabitat with complacent crabs) that should be put in a separate tank. If you have only one aggressive crab, try to pair it with a crab of equal or greater size to keep it from experiencing lonliness.

7. Is that all?
Yes. That's it.

8. Summary:
Chill out and please use less hysterical reactions. It's really frustrating!


~~~Ayianna