Dwarf Hermit Crabs

[scubasteve]

Got my shipment from liveaquaria.com, i must say i am very very happy. Got shipped overnight and got here this afternoon, was packed excellent, had those heat warmers to heat the water a little bit, and everything was alive and looked awesome.

I got these dwarf blue hermit crabs from them to try them out, there so cool there about 1/4" -1/2" and if you watch you can see there tiny claws pick up the crushed coral and eat stuff off of it.
I tried to take a pic but there so small its hard to focus on them.

 

[reefrunner69]

Make sure you have shells for them to move into as they grow or they will evict your snails from theres. Shelljackings aren't pretty

 

[scubasteve]

haha,how big do the dwarf ones get??
do they always stay 'dwarfed' ?

 

[reefrunner69]

Before the great hermit die off of 2002 in my tank (BTW, I never replaced them and have no idea when it occurred, I just looked into the tank one day and realized I hadn't seen one in a long time. The tank has done equally as well without them), there were a 3 of the original 10 that could no longer be called dwarfs, they were sporting 2.5" conch shells 8O

 

[WarOrks15]

i have a ton of dwarf zebra hermits crads in my tank right now and i can see already that the numbers are slowly dieing off. i htink i have pulled out 2 bodys in the 1st week i got them. but when there are no more i will replace them with some thing that can grow there own shell like the scarlet reef or some thing like that.

 

[reefrunner69]

No hermit crab can grow their own shell. Hermits use snail shells

 

[cmor1701d]

Hermits use snail shells

And other hermit's shells. The war continues in my tank although I am finding fewer claws and bodies strewn around. I've also removed a few and put them in the corner boxes where they can munch on whatever gets in there.
If their lifespan is truly only a year then it should not be longer before I am hermit crab free.

 

[scubasteve]

wow
hermit crab wars... haha sounds like a new special on FOX 8O

 

[Grumpy]

Has anyone ever heard of a Lunare Wrasse attacking a large Hermit Crab. I had two Hermits aprox 3" long and two days after putting a 4" long lunare wrasse in the tank, one of the Hermits was found in pieces all over the tank.

 

[steve-s]

Has anyone ever heard of a Lunare Wrasse attacking a large Hermit Crab. I had two Hermits aprox 3" long and two days after putting a 4" long lunare wrasse in the tank, one of the Hermits was found in pieces all over the tank.

They will attack and eat most mobile inverts, especially shrimp, hermits and snails. They will also nip heavily at clams. The older they get, the more often it will happen. I had mine for over 4 years and eventually had to find him a new home due to the fact it kept eating my snails...

Cheers
Steve