Black hermit crab? ! and many more questions about hermits?

Question

i bought my hermit crab named Bil about a month a half ago. he id big and completly black all the sites i have been looking at dont say anything about big black hermit crabs i bought him from Peco and i have heard tht they sell imported herit crabs is tht a bad thing? and i bought another hemit 2 days ago cuz Phil died :'( and i randomly comes up and goes over to Bil and climbs on him feels him with anetana thingys and i dont know what tht is? schell fight? :( or is he just learning who he is? is lunch meat ok to feed my hermits with? also i want to get Equadorian hermit crabs but i dont know where to buy them near me. i have one purple pincher and one unknown black hermit it a kinda small tank where can i get a cheap big tank? again near me what else is good to feed my herimits ?

PLEASE ANSER MY QUESTIONS i cant find the answers anywhere :[

Answer 1

It may be a purple pincer sometimes they are really really dark.

Good luck finding Es it took me for ever to track mine down. they aren't as easy to ship as purple pincers.

All hermit crabs are wild caught. This is why adoption is very important before buying them in a pet shop.  Hermit crabs do not yet breed in captivity so they are collected at beaches and sold in stores. Only a small fraction survive this trip and fewer survive life in pet shops. Sadly not alot of good information gets out about hermit crabs and people don't know how to care for them.

Try getting a second hand tank. I got a 00 gallon aquarium on an online classified for $40.  I made the plexiglass lid for  a fraction of what it would cost in the shop.

Hermit crabs can eat most things. Remember to avoid sugars, preservatives, salts, and too much oils. ( lunch meat is a no go) I avoid bread products and most commercial hermit crab foods.

Most fruits and vegetables are safe. Grapes, Avocados, strawberries, and apple cores are popular in my tank. I feed mine veggi and fruit scraps. They can also eat cooked meat  and love shellfish but be sure to remove it soon after giving it to them. let them have it for an hour or so then take it out. Eggs and egg shells along with peanut butter are another favourite.

From the pet store I buy: krill, brine shrimp, tubiflex worms, dead packaged meal worms and cuttle bone.

Shell fights usually happen when there are too few shells to choose from.  What you're seeing is the usual dominance displays. Nothing to worry about