hermit crab molt?

[match55]

recently I saw some legs, not just a few, but like all the legs from one hermit.
There is nothing in my tank will eat them now.
I only have 3peppermint shrimps, 1 ema crab, and should have 7 hermits, and I have put a lot of extra shell for them to change with.

my question is will hermit crab molt like shrimps OoO?

don't think the herimts will kill each other for food, cuz I do feed them every other day.

 

[Zer0]

Yes. Hermit crabs DO molt. If they are all still alive, and you can visually see each of them, then those legs could just be their molt. However, it could be their real legs. I think you would need to inspect the hermit crabs closer, to see if they had any missing limbs, to determine whether or not it was just the molt, or the real deal.

 

[match55]

the legs ain't seperated, its whole set of its front legs LOL
I couldn't get a picture cuz its located in a very deep and dark cave which my camera won't able to capture.
but I assume if hermit crabs kill each other, it will be like 1 legs over here and one there something like that, since all my hermits r about the same size.

I will pay a little more attention on them, and I m gonna set a trap and try to get all my hermits in it, so I can count XD

thanks zero

 

[Zer0]

Np.

Well, if they are all connected, then my guess is, that what you are seeing are just the molts. If nothing in your tank is large enough to tear through your hermits, and leave severed chunks of body parts all over the place, then i will put my chips on the molting theory. I would think that if it was hermit on hermit action.. you would see the legs and body attached, and would notice it decaying, or being eaten. Not torn apart, and limbs scattered throughout the tank. But, as some say.. let the chips fall where they may. I sure hope you don't have a rabies infected hermit crab. Watch your hands! haha.

 

[match55]

Np.

Well, if they are all connected, then my guess is, that what you are seeing are just the molts. If nothing in your tank is large enough to tear through your hermits, and leave severed chunks of body parts all over the place, then i will put my chips on the molting theory. I would think that if it was hermit on hermit action.. you would see the legs and body attached, and would notice it decaying, or being eaten. Not torn apart, and limbs scattered throughout the tank. But, as some say.. let the chips fall where they may. I sure hope you don't have a rabies infected hermit crab. Watch your hands! haha.

ewwwww hahaha~ I never think about that, haha like I never wash my hand lol, my mom will kill me if I don't wash my hand after I play with my tank.

oh and actually my shrimps pull the part out, so I took a picture of the legs LOL.
tank is under blue light now, so have to use flash and I suck so the picture is bad XD~~

 

[Zer0]

Hmm.. idk.. that looks more like half of its body rather than just a couple front legs. Could be molt. Are you missing any of your hermits? If they all come out when you feed the tank, i would suggest counting. See if any casualties happened.

 

[match55]

yea I know it looks half of the body LOL
I will do the counting tmr morning.
hope they r all here, or something really bad is in my tank OoO

 

[EscVelocity]

Don't hermit crabs usually eat their molt?

 

[match55]

Don't hermit crabs usually eat their molt?

i have no idea,

 

[roka64]

Yes, it looks like a molt to me and crabs will eat pretty much anything they find that they think might be a tasty snack. I have found hermit crab molts look like the real thing. Remember, anything with an exoskeleton needs to molt in order to grow.

 

[Zer0]

Well said roka. And yeah, that's what i thought in the first place, that it was just a molt. match55 doesn't have anything in the tank that will tear threw inverts.. so i wasn't really falling for the idea of another hermit crab massacring that one. I was reading up online about hermit crabs, because i was bored, and all of the places i found, didn't say anything about them eating their exoskeletons after they molt. I mean, it could be true, and it may have been just a small insignificant fact, but i didn't see anything on that. But it wouldn't surprise me.. since they are scavengers and eat anything that has the ability to decay.. lol. Good work roka! ;D

 

[match55]

thanks zero and roka.
hermit crabs problem solve, I counted it earlier, they r all here XDD
gonna go get some glove polyps or yellow polyps~after lunch. hehe

 

[Zer0]

Glad everything is doing ok.

Get the gloves. Those things are wicked awesome. The yellow polyps are just....... polyps colored yellow. Lol. Nothing special.