Click the Shell™️ to visit the toy list on the main site.
Xia-Xia Pets (pronounced as 'Sha-Sha') are a series of electronic, scuttling crabs that were launched in 2011 by Cepia LLC, the company that sold Zhu Zhu Pets. The toys were present at the 2012 Toy Fair, and according to a toyworld magazine cover, the toys were to release in December, 2011.
Before the toy hit the shelves, it had been deemed as a hot toy, and there was confidence that the line would be as successful as Zhu Zhu Pets.
Here's my 2¢'s worth: Despite the hopes some had, I don't think sales were good. There aren't many videos or discussions online about them. Three crabs which were released after the first four were released, were not introduced by the official Xia-Xia Pets social media accounts, and there don't appear to be photos of the official merch saved anywhere. Also, according to the Wayback Machine's captures, the website seems to have been up from 2010 until sometime in 2012.
The crabs are meant to be carnival-themed, and the name 'Xia-Xia' rhymes with 'chacha'. Each little guy has a name, a translucent shell, and a 'Kooky Friend' inside the shell, that you can remove and place on top of the shell. You could purchase more shells separately, which would come with two Kooky Friends instead of one. Kooky Friends are mini figures that can resemble mini inanimate objects with faces, animals, little creatures of their own, or they can look like a tiny human.
Four crabs the brand had emphasis on are Bimini, Turks, Trinidad, and Tobago. Dominica, Helena, and Tiwi are the only other three crabs known to have been released.
They don't do much, other than scutter around for 3-5 seconds, when you touch one of their claws. If they hit an object while moving, they can reverse from it. Press one of their claws for a second, and they should scuttle around for 15 seconds. Dominica uses Bimini's design, Helena is based on Turks, and Tiwi also uses Bimini's design.
Only three playsets were released.
Two types of Xia-Xia Pet creatures remained unreleased; the unreleased types include a turtle and what appears to be a snail with legs (??).
Despite how the toyline does not appear to have been successful, merchandise such as a DS game, pillows, and clothes exist.