can a hermit crab steal a shell from a turbo snail?

[talloulou]

I put a variety of extra shells in my tank for the hermit crab but he seems to be climbing all over my turbo snails all the time. Can he hurt them and take their shells or are his attempts in vein? I went out last night and bought more shells that look very similar to the turbo snail shells to see if that will satisfy him. So I guess we will see.

 

[afilter]

Most definately and it is a fairly common thing. Adding more shells will help. Should the snail fall and become overturned hermits are know to kill them and steal the shell. This is one reason we always need to add moresnails on occassion.

 

[austinsdad]

Afilter hit the nail on the head. A meal and a new home in one bite (well, a few bites). Replacing snails from time to time is expected with hermits. What kind of hermits ya got?

 

[talloulou]

He was sold simply as an "aquatic hermit crab" from Petco. Here is a picture. Also I have read that hermit crabs can be social and you should have more than one. But I have also read that they can be aggressive towards one another. I have one in a 29 gallon, should I get 1-2 more? I also have two turbo snails.

 

[austinsdad]

Wuz wondering if you had an Electric Blue. They seem more agressive than others IMO. Yeah, I'd say get a couple more. Get a couple of Scarlet Reef hermits. Cleanup crews (snails & hermits) are often "updated" anyway - that's when someone gets eaten?

 

[Jermz79]

I have 8 in my 29gal tank, 4 common brown and 4 scarlet!

 

[afilter]

Looks like a common to me.

As for hermits and snails some suggest as many as 1/gallon. I would suggest getting several more hermits and sanils. Look for a mix of red and blue hermits. In addition to turbo snails check out margarite and nasarius snails.

I have more than I can keep track of in my setup. I started out with small hermits at $.99-2.99 each as well as snails. I usually pay $1.99-2.99 for snails. I usually wait for a sale and then replensih.

HTH,

 

[Scottm]

I personally prefer the blue leg variety. They stay small and don't strip off and eat corraline nearly as much as the scarlets.