New Tank. Hermit Crab Lost Limbs And Died.

Recently I got 6 zebra hermit crabs for my tank. After a week, all the crabs except one have been doing fine. One crab today just lost a limb and both of its pinchers and then came out of its shell. I put it in a separate cup. It is unresponsive and possibly dead. I didn't test my water yet. The other crabs have not been doing this. I have seen some bullying in the tank. I don't have any fish yet.

What could be the cause of this? Should I be concerned?

(BTW I am planning on getting fish, so I need these crabs for a CUC.)

EDIT: Could It be molting? I read online that hermit crabs that are molting can be mistaken for being dead. It came out of the shell when I grabbed it. Could I have stressed it out to the point of death? Could it still be alive?

 

I had a hermit kill another of its pals for its shell some crabs are mean little guys.

 

yeah. the hermit crab moved once in the cup, but now the cup is starting to smell like dead fish, so i'm guessing its dead. Also, I don't have any other shells in the tank. Are there any good shells online. I have Zebra Hermit Crabs, which get 1". I also live in Hawaii, so I don't know if a lot of stores can ship to here.

 

I think there may be some on amazon my lfs has shells for hermits like 20 shells for 3 bucks.

 

My LFS gives away extra shells.

 

I found some good shells on Amazon. They are some nice Nerite snail shells, as my hermits currently live in. Maybe I can also ask my local LFS if they have shells. Also, the crab in the cup grew two things on its body. They are like a pinkish color and have little claws at the end. Maybe it's regenerating. However, the cup STINKS! It smells like dead fish! I read that this smell could mean the crab is dead or it's molting, but i'm not sure.

 

One of my zebra hermits is out of its shell and motionless. It has only a few legs and no claws. I don't know if it's molting or dead? How do I tell?

I'll upload a picture soon.

UPDATE: The crab still has one claw.

ANOTHER UPDATE: I was getting worried about the "dead" crab, as it had no abdomen. However, I made a little crab count. 5 crabs! The same amount of crabs before I saw that "dead" crab. It turns out one of my crabs had a successful molt and all are doing okay!