Ecuadorian Hermit Crab

Geographical Origin and Habitat: Distributed along the Pacific coast of the Americas, from southern California and Mexico to Ecuador and northern Peru. Inhabits sandy beaches and coastal forests.

Taxonomy: Member of the family Coenobitidae. Features elongated, laterally compressed eye stalks. The body is slightly compressed, enabling fast movement. Grows to 4-5 cm.

Social Behavior: Highly active, curious, and energetic. Scuttles at surprising speeds and loves to climb high branches in the terrarium. Very social and does best in colonies.

Coloration and Sexual Dimorphism: Color varies from grey, olive-green, and tan to bright shades of orange or yellow. Eye stalks are dark and comma-shaped. No visible sexual dimorphism.

Tank Setup: Requires a dry terrarium with at least 6 inches of moist sand and coconut fiber substrate. Providing climbing nets, branches, and logs is highly recommended.

Diet and Feeding: Opportunistic omnivore. Eats fresh fruits, vegetables, dried insects, fish meat, and specialized hermit crab pellets. Cuttlebone must be provided to supply calcium.

Water Quality: Dry setup with relative humidity kept at 70-80%. Provide two shallow water dishes: one with dechlorinated fresh water, and one with marine salt water. The crab must be able to submerge.

Compatibility and Tankmates: Keep only in terrariums with other land hermit crab species. Coexists peacefully in large groups of its own or related species (Coenobita).

Aquarium Breeding: Extremely difficult. Breeding involves releasing zoeal larvae in ocean waves in the wild, which require specialized planktonic food to survive.

Risks and Diseases: Fast dehydration and death if humidity drops below 70%. Molting failure if the substrate is dry or shallow. Avoid any copper-based chemical treatments.