acclimating fighting clean up crew....

[cain420]

ok.. i put my cleanup crew into a 26 gallon rubbermaid tote... some of the hermits look like they might be fighting.. or do they tend to gather together???
if indeed they are fighting, i know u arent supposed to move em during acclimation, but should i break up the fights??????
clean up crews aint cheap, so i dont wanna lose any of em!

 

[cain420]

lol.. nevermind.. one of em is missin a few legs now...
all are in the tank, and chowin away!
cant wait to see how the tank looks clean, lol!
the coral banded shrimp is HUGE!
bought this package for my 75 gallon
not sure if a few are dead or not.. only time will tell i guess.. i acclimated properly over 2.5 hours (slightly longer then the 2 hour recommended).. package arrived fast! and the fed ex guy made me his first delivery... VERY COLD IN MICHIGAN! lol
he was worried they might freeze.. water was a good temp when i got it.. not very cold at all!
anyone looking for a clean up crew... i would have to suggest this site to get it!
Alot of life in the tank now... Looks great! I hope they all make it!
Should I expect at least a few to die over time?
and how soon should i get some empty shells??

 

[pfitz44]

ID go get some shells now or they might start killing eachother and snails. Just go to a craft store, buy some unpainted shells, and boil them in water for about 30 min and toss them in.

 

[cain420]

lol i seen 2 of the blue legs goin at it, but they gave up on each other.. haha
guess they figured they might as well eat instead!
i will hit the craft store that is right by the lfs..
how many do u think i should get??

 

[pfitz44]

i personally like the look of the shells in my tank, so i put a lot in... people say 1 for every 2 or so.... dont forget to get bigger shells for them to grow into
I probabilly have about 12-15 scarlet hermits, and probabilly 40 shells or so. But like i said, thats way overkill.... but i dont have to worry about them killing my snails or eachother!

 

[davind]

I have 5 blue-legs in my 12 gallon and I put about 10 shells in there. They all switched shells within 24 hours of me putting the new ones in. I got them in a bag at my local craft store and boiled them.
PS, you would be surprised at what size of shells they go for. I don't know how some of those tiny crabs can haul around those huge shells.

 

[cain420]

lol.. that would be funny to watch.. i think a bunch of tiny little whitish bugs came with the crew... my scooter blenny should chow on those, right??

 

[alyssia]

Originally Posted by cain420
lol.. that would be funny to watch.. i think a bunch of tiny little whitish bugs came with the crew... my scooter blenny should chow on those, right??
Yep, if they are pods your scooter will eat them.
The crabs weren't fighting (I thought that too) I read on here that when they roll around trying to pull each other out of their shells that is their version of lovemaking!!

 

[pfitz44]

Originally Posted by alyssia
Yep, if they are pods your scooter will eat them.
The crabs weren't fighting (I thought that too) I read on here that when they roll around trying to pull each other out of their shells that is their version of lovemaking!!

Makes scense.... this actually happened to me... two shells were almost stuck together... other crabs couldnt pull them apart... they were like that probabilly 6-7 hrs... i thoguth they might be spawning.... whish i had small enough shells...

 

[cain420]

alot of the snails are still stuck together.. lol a crab is walkin around with one on his back..should i pull em apart or just give em time?

 

[pfitz44]

Just leave em.. dont need to stress them out any more!!