Too Many Hermit Crab Fatalities

I now have only 2 Zebra Hermits left in my 10 Gallon Nano Reef. There used to be 6. Just today, my largest crab, who I named "Pearly" because of the white bumps on it's shell, has eaten my smallest crab. I tried buying some Reef Frenzy a while ago during my last visit to the LFS, but I had to go to WalMart after (I'm only 13, and I can't drive. My LFS is not a good walking distance).

I have some plans. I'm not separating them because hermits are social creatures, so just having one in there will be a death sentence. I might either keep them, re-home them, or move them to another tank (which I don't have). If I get rid of them, what are some alternatives? Maybe an emerald crab or something?

One of my Zebra Hermits from my Nano Reef has evacuated its shell. It also lost it's big claw. What should I do?

I currently have it in a cup. It's doing fine, but I don't know what to do! I cannot drive anywhere to get something because I'm just a 13 year old, and I know my parents won't take me anyways!

What should I do? Put it back in the tank? Make another tank? Euthenize it.

 

How many shells do you have in the tank? The shells aren't attached to them, they leave their shells and look for bigger ones as they grow.

 

Personally I would leave it in the tank a cup is too small for it. You also need a selection of shells as they will swap as they get older

 

yeah, he's probably looking for a new home (shell)!! don't kill the little guy. his claw will grow back.

 

Okay! He's still in the cup. What I'm worried about is that the big hermit crab is kind of a bully (he ate 2 of my past hermits), and the small guy won't be able to defend himself without his big claw.

Could he survive?

 

You're going to have to accept that you are going to lose inverts. In the last 2 years I have probably lost 20 of them and I even added a number of extra shells to the tanks I have had. They will prey on each other and you can't get too attached to individuals. The lone exception I have is a big left handed hermit that I have that has managed to hold on for the last 18 months.

 

I now have only 2 Zebra Hermits left in my 10 Gallon Nano Reef. There used to be 6. Just today, my largest crab, who I named "Pearly" because of the white bumps on it's shell, has eaten my smallest crab. I tried buying some Reef Frenzy a while ago during my last visit to the LFS, but I had to go to WalMart after (I'm only 13, and I can't drive. My LFS is not a good walking distance).

I have some plans. I'm not separating them because hermits are social creatures, so just having one in there will be a death sentence. I might either keep them, re-home them, or move them to another tank (which I don't have). If I get rid of them, what are some alternatives? Maybe an emerald crab or something?

If you want to keep it simple, skip the Zebra Hermits and go for the Regular or Dwarf Red Hermits. I have found that they are the crabs that work the hardest as far as clean up crew function and bother things the least. Personally I would not keep a Zebra hermit in a reef tank that small as they just get too big and cause problems. Any larger crab will only make the trouble worse (ie Emerald). The other advantage to the Reds is that they are dirt cheap (ie $1.50-$2 each) and a few of them will easily get the job done done in a tank of that size.

 

Okay. By the way, I only have ONE hermit crab left now, which is, or course, Pearly. He apparently stressed another crab out and now it's dead.

I'll try looking for some Red Legged hermits. I've only seen them at certain stores on certain occasions. What types of shrimps will do good, too?