looks like my crab got ripped out of its shell

[pairenoid]

but all i have is a pistol shrimp and other crabs and snails

here is a pic, it looks like its legs were ripped off
also should i take it out of the tank or let the others eat it
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/pairenoid/1.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/pairenoid/2.jpg
the shell its by is kinda empty, it looks like i saw something in it but i cant tell, it might be his

[Kio707]

Did it molt?

[pairenoid]

dont know, when i look at the empty shell i can see hints of it being cut in half

its hard to tell because its all blue or black at the shell entrance with a bit of color from the previous attach legs

im not sure how it molts but its only the legs with a lot of white cottony stuff

[obscurereef]

This happened twice in my tank. I didn't have aggressive fish or inverts yet somehow I found the hermit crab dead with no shell. The only thing I can think of is if another hermit stole his shell and killed him. Take him out if you don't have a good CUC.

[bonniewoodruff]

I have read that if there are not a lot of empty shells they will kill each other for a bigger shell.

[obscurereef]

Even with empty shells (have a ton in plain sight on the sand) doesn't mean they will use them. It's always to put some in though.

[pairenoid]

where can i buy empty shells, for housing as well as my shrimp to use as building material

[Kio707]

Originally Posted by pairenoid

where can i buy empty shells, for housing as well as my shrimp to use as building material

Reef cleaners.org, reef2go... Several places.

[obscurereef]

Ask your LFS if getting some snails or hermits if they'll throw in some empty shells for free...I'm pretty sure they will

[bonniewoodruff]

They sell them at my LFS 10 for $1

[Beengirl]

Yeah, I asked at one of my LFS if they have any cuz there weren't any out, and the guy reached behind the counter and brought out this big box of snail shells. It was like a snails worst nightmare!!! lol. Anyways, they were pretty cheap.

[Elude82]

I wouldn't worry. It definitely just looks like it molted. I freaked out when I first saw this, but over time I saw it more and more, and always had the same number of crabs.

[Ingy]

+1 on molt. Here's today's Halloween molt pulled from the tank.

[Elude82]

This was a molt from my Horseshoe crab. It looks like a whole one, but its just another exoskeleton.

[pairenoid]

hm it turns out the shell nearby was a snail actually, i flipped it over after 3 days of me thninking it was dead and it still moved partially :O

i hope he lives but i had no idea it was a snail from what i could view all i saw was black at the entrance

also i noticed i have some coral growing on my rocks, its very white and feint, couldnt tell if it was dying in the first place or growing, but after staring at it for like 5 minutes it instantly retreated and disappeared, it is circular and looks like a common one, but im surprised its growing.

i only have a hood and light from petsmart, so i only have like a t8 bulb.