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This brings up an interesting topic on dominance and aggression in the crabitat. Dominance is a natural-occurring thing where the alpha crab will try to take charge of the tank. Normally, this does not cause any harm to the crabs. In fact, it is my opinion that it is good for the crabs to develop a pecking order. It gives them a more natural environment and they can intereract with other crabs, bigger or smaller.
Common dominance behaviors are climbing on top of each others shell or pushing other's away from the food dish. Dominance is exhibited in the picture to the right where both crabs are eating at the bowl. These two crabs are either at a similar dominance level or do not consider each other to be a threat to the foodstock or each other, which makes sense because Mako and Kilimanjaro have been housed together for at least a year and a half. Notice that Kilimanjaro, however, is a bit weary of Mako because he is the larger crab.
Aggression can occur over territorial things and food stock. Aggression is common in crabs that are overcrowded, not fed enough protein, and do not have enough shells offered. Shell fights, territorial battles, and cannabilism have all been observed as aggressive behaviors in land hermit crabs. I have had a few experiences of aggression, one being on the picture at the left. Shinto, a medium purple pincher, was inside of the flower pot and Ryukyu did not like it. They had a small spar until Shinto finally left.
Although Violas are not known to be aggressive, I have noticed a bit of aggression with my Viola, Ryukyu. I think he might be lonely or because he is the largest crab, he decides to take charge. I really like this crab, but he is a bit of a bully over territory, food, and other issues. As you can see here he is hogging the food dish. His spar with Mako was very small and consisted of a few shell shakes, but I think I may need to start feeding a bit more protein and try to satisfy this crab...or maybe he needs a species buddy.
As mentioned above, shell fights are common if not enough shells are provided. That is why it is important to keep at least 3-4 shells per crab. Featured to the left is an example of my shell-changing station for my smaller crabs. They have many different sized shells to choose from to prevent any shell fights. I have not had one shell fight in my entire crabbing experience. Keeping clean, neat shells is key to preventing and inhibiting any shell fights inside of the crabitat.
In conclusion, it is important to be able to tell the difference between aggression and dominance. Dominating behaviors, in my opinion, should be allowed to go on in the crabitat. It reduces the stress level and allows the crabs to form a colony. Aggressive behaviors should be monitored. While some crabs are just natural bullies, most aggressive behavior can be inhibited by offering enough nutrients, enough shells, and enough space in the crabitat for your hermits to live.
1 comment:
My Nibit (purple pincher) Will not change shells he has been wearing the same shell for 3 years now. He has altered his shell to fit himself better though. It looks all chipped away along the front. When I pick him up and look at the bottom it is very worn and in some spots is worn completely through. I constantly keep him new shells available. He changed 1 time but by the time realized he had and went into to grab the old one he had changed back into it :/. I have 3 very happy purple pinchers. I just want to know if I'm doing something wrong or what...I love your blog. I'm planning on going out and catching my hermies a grasshopper now after reading your latest post :)
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