Did the hermit crab eat the horseshoe crab?

[tigger]

I have a 55 gal saltwater tank. The hermit crab recently molted and this morning we found the shell of the horseshoe crab with the hermit crab lording over it. It looks like the shell didn't have anything in it (remnants of a crab). We wondered if the horseshoe crab molted or the hermit crab ate him.

Thank you!

[reefrunner69]

It is more than likely a molt, but if the horse shoe crab (not suitable for aquariums) dies then the hermit may well have eaten it.

[tigger]

Thank you for the information. Petco didn't mention that horseshoe crabs were not appropriate for aquariums. Next time I buy additional "family members", I will ask which ones are the best for the other inhabitants in the aquarium.

Thanks again!

Natalie

[two11devan]

If you ask anyone, don't ask the people at the LFS....ask your questions here....The ppl at the store will tell you anything will do ok in your tank. The horshoe crabs do a great job at cleaning your sand bed, in fact, they do too good of a job, they will eat EVERYTHING and eventually kill your sand bed. That is why they don'ty do well....i bought one and returned it the same day after finding this out!

[tigger]

Thank you so much! I am so glad I found this website. I will definitely consult this website before I buy any new "friends".

[tkos]

Don't horseshoe crabs get huge in the wild?

[stresco]

I had a Horsshoe crab in my tank for a while. The LFS said that he would do a great job of sifting and cleaning the sand bed. Uncle Fester i called him. He did a great job of cleaning the sand like the LFS said. So well in fact, i had to donate him to a different LFS and then buy MORE LS to seed my tank all over again. He ate everything. Simple rule of thumb when stocking your tank is to research the inhabitants you want in your tank before you buy it. NEVER EVER make a purchase on the word of the people in your LFS. They will say anthing to make a sale. I have caught these people in blatant lies, and missleading people many, many times. Just as an example, i overheard the "SW Specialist" at my local Petco tell somebody that it was ok to keep a Harlequin Sweetlips in a 30gal tank. Sure they are cute and pretty little fish as infants, but those things can grow to 3' in captivity! No way can it live in a 30. Anyhow, HTH.

[tigger]

Should I buy more live sand? The horseshoe crab is gone. Either he died & the hermit crab ate him or the hermit crab killed him.

[stresco]

I did, because im impatient and did not want to wait till the LR had a chance to re-populate the sand. I bought about 5lbs of LS at 4 bucks a pound (ouch 8O ) , and just spread it around liberally.

[jamal-188]

I just bought a horseshoe crab due to some crappy advice at my LFS. They said it would be fine in my tank and my large hermit crabs wouldn't bother it. They also said my large hermit crabs wouldn't bother emerald crabs so I bought one of them as well. No more than 30 minutes after I put them in my tank one hermit killed/ate the emerald and another hermit killed/ate the horseshoe. I'm sooooo feed up with advice from this store, they are supposed to be experts but bad advice after bad advice has cost me over $100

[tigger]

I totally agree about LFS. The one I usually go to has given me good advice... the other one (open later & on Sundays) definitely does not. "Sure....your hermit crab will be ok with the horseshoe crab". "Hermie" ate "Captain Scuttler" (horseshoe crab). Hermie was a good cleaner, but I didn't want him "cleaning" my $35 fish, so I returned him. We'll buy snails instead.