Will scarlet reef hermits eat everything off of my LR

[courtneyclv]

I am already getting rid of my larger hermit, he ate all of my cleaner crew snails. Now I have tiny tiny scarlet reef hermits in shell. They all hang out on my brand new LR.

Will they eat ALL of the good bacteria off of it? Should I get rid of them and just go with snails to go on my tank walls and sift through my sand?

 

[melosu58]

No they will only graze on algea and scavange.

 

[Devilishturtles]

I agree. My scarlet hermit is the biggest in the tank, and scooted in with a batch of blue-legged hermits. He will only scavenge and won't harm your rock in anyway.

 

[courtneyclv]

Well I brought my large hermit and a couple of small ones back to the LFS. After he ate my watchman goby, mithrax crab, baby trigger (bf's) and peppermint shrimp and about 15 snails..i had enough!!!

 

[roka64]

After he ate my watchman goby, mithrax crab, baby trigger (bf's) and peppermint shrimp

Have you had your water tested? That is a lot of deaths for a hermit, especially if they were healthy.

+++EDIT+++

How big was he?

 

[courtneyclv]

Yes, I test it daily. Everything is at zero.

He was about 3-4 inches big. He would scavage around on the ground for scraps of food and stuff. Then, when the fishies were sleeping he would grab them. He would also bury himself and then attack..that is how he ate the mithrax crab. He would also shake my fake coral to get off a snail!

Is this normal? Maybe he was just really hungry.
?

 

[austinsdad]

You got a bad hermit!

 

[nycpassat]

Scarlets are usually harmless