I need an algae eater that my crabs don't identify as "dinner"

C

Corn-Picker

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Dec 30, 2003
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Well, a few of my hermit crabs seem to really like my Mexican Turbo Snails. So much in fact, that they like to flip them over and eat them when the snails cross the sand going from the rocks to the glass. I've provided plenty of shells for my crabs, and usually they don't take the shells on the snails they eat.

What's an algae eater than can climb glass and clean a good bit without being identified as food by the hermit crabs? I have a 29 gallon tank.
 
All the crabs I bought were "blue legged hermit crabs," but about 3 of the 20 I have are not blue legged hermit crabs. Two are a dull brown, and about 40% larger than the blue legged hermit crabs. One is a beaufitul red with white stripes, and has one claw that's huge; he's about 25% larger than the blue legged hermit crabs.

Edit: The red crab moves pretty slow, but he always seems to be the first to anything that dies...
 
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JME, but in smaller tanks, it can come down to choosing which you want to have. In my 10, I couldn't keep snails alive until I evicted the hermits. In the 120, the snails have enough room to graze on the glass and rock without ever crossing sand, and are safe--at least, no losses yet.

The hermits normally won't bug nassarius and cerith snails, but these aren't the best at cleaning the glass.

You might be able to get a chestnut cowrie--they do best on glass, and I've never seen the hermits go near ours--again, in the 120. Might be different in a smaller setup.
 
That's so weird. My blue legs have never touched an astraea or turbo, despite having years of opportunity, but I have seen them assaulting ceriths fairly routinely. I wonder if it's a difference in species, feeding regimen, or what.
 
Brown hermit crabs tend to be bad in my limited experience... The one I got in with my scarlets was probably a shell breaking reef hermit that attacked a coral within minutes of entering the aquarium. The red and white one is probably something like Phimochirus holthuisi, which is more or less OK. Most hermit crabs are omnivores that will eat whatever is available.

See if you can find them here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/arthropoda/crabs/hermitcrabs.htm

In my experience, my scarlet hermits have never attacked any of my snails.
 
Having 20 hermits in a 29gal tank is a bit excessive isn't it!?! Too much competition for food that makes it to the bottom would quickly turn them onto anything they could get their little claws on. I would probably recommend thinning out your hermit crab population. I'm not expert, but that makes sense to me.
 
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