I've slowly stocked a few ricordia, mushrooms, a couple of snails and a peppermint shrimp to my nano reef. Anyway, I just added a few hermit crabs for some more activity. This may seem like a silly question but how often do these guys outgrow their shells? In other words should I be keeping a small batch of spare shells in the tank for them?
Hermit crabs
- Thread starter reiverix
- Start date
Not a bad idea, I'd just toss them in the tank and let the crabs sort things out. I live near the coast so small shells like that are a dime a dozen.
Most of the smaller crabs out there don't grow terribly big, often times they're already as big as they're gonna get.
We have a native hermit here that eats cyanobacteria (the dreaded bluegreen algae) like no tomorrow, it loves the stuff. Unfortunately it also loves any corals. I plopped some xenia in the tank with mine just to see, and it ate it quite happily (it was a small piece so no waste). That, and they get fist-sized.
Most of the smaller crabs out there don't grow terribly big, often times they're already as big as they're gonna get.
We have a native hermit here that eats cyanobacteria (the dreaded bluegreen algae) like no tomorrow, it loves the stuff. Unfortunately it also loves any corals. I plopped some xenia in the tank with mine just to see, and it ate it quite happily (it was a small piece so no waste). That, and they get fist-sized.
Yes add shells! As Mako said lots of hermits can be really aggresive including some that aren't normally known to be like the blue legs . Add extra shells to protect your snails and other hermits.
hth
chris
hth
chris
if i don't live near the coast, where could i find a good stock of shells? i've got like 35 oer 40 hermits in my tank...
My little secret - go to a craft store, like Michael's. You can buy little shells by the bag, just make sure you get the ones that haven't been painted, and wash them well before adding them to the tank.