will the crab die if it doesnt find a shell it likes??

[pookie_spike09]

i was wondering if a crabs shell is too small and it never finds a shell that it likes,will it die??

[Hermie's rule]

If a hermie's shell is too small and it can never find a bigger one, then yes, it will die.

[pookie_spike09]

ohh.. thats probely why my crab died!!! even though there were tons of bigger shells in the tank but i guesse he didnt like them!!

[emmac350]

Not necessarily. There could have been something wrong with your tank conditions, or he might have put molting off for too long, it could have been PPS...they die for lots of different reasons, not just because of shells.

[CrabbyJo]

I think it's probably a good idea to have shells about the same size as the one your crab has as well as bigger - he may find one that just suits him better but it's not larger.

And Emma's right, it could have been any number of things.

[pookie_spike09]

yeah he is a PP!!! im not sure why he died but its ok my other crab is doing just fine in the tank

[emmac350]

I wasn't talking about what kind of crab you have - I was talking about PPS, or post purchase stress. Basically, they can't handle the change from the wild to the pet store to your tank's conditions, get stressed, and die because of it. If you search for PPS in the search box in the upper right corner of the site, you can find a lot of information on it.

[Hermie's rule]

I think it's called post purchase syndrome. I'm not absolutely sure though.

[pookie_spike09]

okay

[emmac350]

I've usually heard it as post purchase stress, sorry for not clarifying earlier.