Local Hermits

keiferd

keiferd

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Nov 4, 2003
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I live on Li Ny and I plan on building a reef aquarium out of a 55 gallon. I was just wondering if I can use the small hermit crabs from the long island sound (don't know what species)as an alternative to blue legged hermits to clean my tank? Also are long island sound anemonies safe in a reef system?
 
not sure about the hermits unless you can provide a species and/or picture to try to identify them.

As for the anemones, I would think it's unlikely that they would be good candidates for a fish tank. Again I don't know what type they are, but they are probably used to a water condition that has a fairly low temperature (I would guess less then 70 degrees or less). It would be nearly impossible without spending some serious cash on a chiller to keep your tank that cold.

But I'm speculating really. Hang out and see if someone else has any ideas.

Guy
 
Depends on your goal. If you want a tropical reef tank, and are just trying to avoid spending money on hermits and anemones, the high temperatures will probably cause them to die fairly quickly. Their biochemistry is geared to low temps, they won't do well in warm water.

On the other hand, if you want to outfit a tank for native species, go for it. You will definitely need a chiller, which will be expensive. Plus, I don't know how much information there is on keeping a lot of those guys. Almost all the hobbyist literature is written about tropical species. You would be right on the cutting edge.

The only other issue I can think of is that blue legs are relatively peaceful creatures, while some hermits, especially large ones, can be really obnoxious.
 
My brother has successfuly introduced a couple of snails from the Atlantic into his saltwater tank. They are pretty tough and adapted well to the increased temperature. I am sure that crabs could do it as they tend to hang out a lot in the shallow water that does get warmer. The anemones, though, would not work at all. They are very picky about the water conditions and I doubt you would be able to remake those. Plus all of the anemones I have seen while diving around Nova Scotia (similar water conditions) aren't the most colourful guys compared to the tropical ones.

I am thinking of doing a local species invert tank with mostly crabs and snails and maybe a starfish. If you do try the hermit then let us know how it goes.
 
thanks for the info, I think i'm going to try it. and I am building a tropical reef tank because a long island sound marine tank would consist of brown water, ugly fish, and a few soda cans and baby diapers floating around. which isn't very pretty. It's true the long island sound water is cold, but I've always thought hermit crabs would be hardy because in the summer, i see them all over tide pools that get to like 80 degrees. I guess it couldn't hurt to try. There's also a beach around here where i can catch puffer fish, which i didnt even knew existed in the sound anymore, what are the chances of them surviving in warmer waters?
 
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