Hermit crabs in a reef

[Dewey]

What everbody think of hermit crabs in a reef???? Should i or not?

Thanks Just wondering what everyone else is doing. Thanks Dewey

 

[snapcrackler]

I have a buncha red leg hermits (35-40) and I am building a reef, I say they are completely safe, they are great!!! They cruise around with featherdusters, anemone, etc no problem.

Eating hair algae and scraps, fighting and changing shells are their game, they leave everything else alone mostly.

One of them tonight wanted to climb into my flame scallop and quickly decided to turn around and leave after flame scallop "chomped" at him

Hope this helps a little I got mine at garf.org along with 40 or so mixed snails all for a buck each.

 

[e-cat]

i had them, and there great little scavangers, just make sure you have plenty of extra shells for them.

 

[snapcrackler]

I agree with ecat on shells you can go to your local hobby store and get a bag fulla craft shells if they are the right size, for a couple bucks. We went to HobbyLobby and got a basket of shels for under two bucks and my crabs drive around in fancy new shells whenever they want.

This reduces the crab fights somewhat too.

 

[toddwess]

I put 30 blue hermits in my 40 gallon after I cycled, and they do pretty well, but the shell-addition thing can not be stressed enough.

Get LOTS of them. I added 10 larger shells to my system, and still had some of them die off. It is almost like they decide they need a new shell, and if they don't find one that second, they die. (this is an exageration, of course, but that is what it seems like)

Also, make sure you have algae for them to eat. I have a nano-reef in the basement (not doing well) and there is not enough light down there to keep the algae thriving, and most of my hermits have died off from starvation.

Todd

 

[snapcrackler]

My reds also eat anything that the fish miss (flakes, mysis, cyclop-eez (copepods)

I wonder if the red hermits are more apt to eat whatever is laying around but your blue herms were more vegetarians? :?