Recent Hermit Crab Deaths

[dinotrex]

Water levels are fine, Could it be lack of food? any ideas? What do they eat?

 

[XXFirefighter]

lack of iodine for molting and maybe lack of homes... do you have extra shells for them to move into ?

 

[steve-s]

What do they eat?

Anything and everything for the most part. As long as there are fish in the tank being fed, the hermits will get fed one way or the other.

Make sure what you are seeing is not simpley a molt. The shedded exoskelaton can look remarkabley like the original. If you know how many you are supposed to have, do a "head count". Hermits will also fight with each other for valuable realestate (including killing snails) so be sure you have plenty of empty shells.

Other than that, how where they acclimated and how's the water specs?

Cheers
Steve

 

[dinotrex]

I put the bag they came in in the water so the temp would be the same when I let them out. didn't know Crabs needed to be acclimated also. That could be it I guess. Also water specs are all 0 except for the nitrate which is at 12.5, Ph is at 8.

 

[steve-s]

You should drip acclimate all inverts. The more sensative, the longer the process. Hermits are typically a little hardier but you should still take the precaution.

What time of day was the pH tested?

Cheers
Steve

 

[dinotrex]

night time, I didn't know it made a difference in the time of day

 

[Guest]

If they are anything like Fiddler or Red-Clawed Crabs, then you will need a Paludarium type set up, they need access to dry land and salt water. I've only seen Hermit Crabs in sandy setups with a dish of water though.

 

[steve-s]

night time, I didn't know it made a difference in the time of day

It does and 8.0 tested at night could be a little concerning. Lower pH levels are to be expected earlier in the day when the lights first come on but as the day goes by, the pH should raise up to a better level.

What is the GPH in the tank and do you have a glass lid?

Cheers
Steve

 

[steve-s]

If they are anything like Fiddler or Red-Clawed Crabs, then you will need a Paludarium type set up, they need access to dry land and salt water. I've only seen Hermit Crabs in sandy setups with a dish of water though.

There are definately land dwelling hermit crabs but the ones we are discussing can spend their entire lifespan under water.

Cheers
Steve

 

[XXFirefighter]

If they are anything like Fiddler or Red-Clawed Crabs, then you will need a Paludarium type set up, they need access to dry land and salt water. I've only seen Hermit Crabs in sandy setups with a dish of water though.

And you have never seen a saltwater tank set up then my friend

 

[darb2]

What type of fish do you have? My angel polished off a lot of snails and hermits.

 

[dinotrex]

Can Reef Hermit Crabs even survive out of the water??

 

[steve-s]

Can Reef Hermit Crabs even survive out of the water??

Yup, just not for prolonged periods of time and as long as they stay moist. They are quite often found in shallow tidal pools as well as being trapped on the beach at low tide.

Cheers
Steve

 

[dinotrex]

I have 2 clowns, a tang and a trigger. I've watched the trigger, he's cool with the hermit crabs. Besides, the crabs hide in their shells when they get scared anyways so there's no way the fish can hurt them.

 

[dinotrex]

better question is, would a trigger harm shrimp?

 

[darb2]

If there was dinner involved, I wouldn't put it past him