Are hermits bad?

[zippy]

I just finished reading an article claiming that hermit crabs are actually bad for reef tanks. I was looking to get some, but now I am not so sure. Every cleanup crew sells lots of red and blue legged hermits, so I am confused. Has anyone had any bad experiences with hermits? Or are all your experiences good? Thanks.

 

[predator]

I'v got both Blue leg and red legs and love them.I'v had no problems at all out of either of them.I'v a little over 30 corals and they hav'nt messed with one of them.Not to mention they are great little cleaners.

 

[kdlbem]

I have had a couple of hermits and a couple of emerald crabs develop a taste for corals. I have started to remove the larger ones just to be safe, it seems that they are more aggressive when they get bigger. I put them in the sump if I catch them munching anything, then take them to the LFS to trade for snails when I get time.
HTH,
B

 

[kris walker]

Just to add, I've heard about this article (or maybe another like it). If I remember correctly, the article argued that hermits in the quatities we often use them in are not natural on reefs. Then there was the talk about how they do damage that cannot be often observed.
Take it for what it's worth. ALthough perhaps not natural at numbers of 1 per 10 gal, hermits help consume ogranics that would otherwise decay, and scarlet reef hermits rarely cause any damage to corals or snails. Blue-leggers are a bit more agressive, and have been associated with snail deaths.
In general, I give hermits a thumbs up.
sam

 

[xenia]

I have had problems with Hermits. They like to peel the small Polyps off the rock. Mostly the large Red ones. IMO when they get large,........ trade them in.
Xenia

 

[nm reef]

I also keep scarlets and blue leg hermits in my system.....currently approximately 30 or so combined.....they are in with well over 30 corals and I've never seen a hermit do any damage....I have seen them picking algae off of corals ... but never doing any actual damage to the coral.......personally I think the diversity they provide is beneficial despite the latest trend or rumor to the contrary.....matter of fact I'll soon place another order to spread between my 3 systems.....and I'll increase the number of hermits and emeralds

 

[diatom]

Suprise, I coming out on the opposite side of the arguement.
Hermits kill your snails (IMO) sift your DSB for critters reducing your pod population and generally are a pain as far as I'm concerned.
They really are unnecessary in your reef as other more reef safe creatures are available to do the things that they do.
I can't imagine a good reason to have them except that they do look pretty cool.
BTW I've had reefs with and without hermits so I have a little experience on both sides of the arguement.

 

[zippy]

OK, so for all of you who do like hermits, what do you think is the best number to have for a 90 gallon? Should I just get a few, or are the number included in the reef packages a good number? And you guys who don't like hermits, what do you use instead? Thanks for all the great opinions.

 

[hillbilly]

In my experience.....
Hermits don't eat Your Corals, they will munch on the algae on them.
They will kill snails and each other. Blue legs seem to be worse for this than the scarlets.
If I had it all to do over again I would nix the blue legs and only get scarlets. I suppose I shouldn't opt for any and just get more snails but I just seem to like the little guys.
Hillbilly

 

[up north hermit]

Reef terrorists.
IMHO
Hermit

 

[fshhub]

didn't want to chance it, so we use snails and shrimps, no crabs in our tankbut that IMO is just a matter of personal preference, ONLY

 

[vkesu]

We had an aglae problem for a while because of a major tank meltdown (extreme heat) and it killed off all inverts. When we replace we got about 6 turbos, and 24 scarlet reef and two emeralds. They have never bothered my
hard or soft corals! They have cleaned the algae off my soft leathers and now look better than ever. (I've typed this before, but I actually saw the scarlett sitting in the center, the leather bent up w/the edge curling towards the hermit so the algae underneath was facing the hermit, he cleaned it, the leather folded back out, hermit left, and the leather opened up.) It was really amazing to see. The only way IMO a hermit would harm something was if it had absolutely no food. (I heavly feed my tank though).

 

[scottkopco]

I have about 12 blue leg hermits in my 55gal. I added 6 snails about 1 month ago. I witnessed one of the hermits kill and eat one of the snails. Don't know about corals, but I do know for a fact that they'll kill snails.
And my snails do a MUCH better job of cleaning algae than the hermits do.

 

[bbreaux1]

scott did you have extra shells for the hermits iveheard of hermits killing snails for thier shells

 

[up north hermit]

Just an FYI:
Hermits will kill just for new clothes.
I once added 10 new beautiful golden turbo snails to my tank. By the NEXT MORNING I had 10 hermits parading around the tank in their new fall outfits---you guessed it, beautiful new golden turbo shells.
That taught me the lesson I had already heard about, but hadn't heeded. My tank too is well fed, with plenty of extra shells of all sizes laying around. I guess they weren't designer or haute coutier enough for the hermits.
Hermit
And they are my namesakes!

 

[vkesu]

Personally, I'd never put a red leg or blue leg in my tank....only the Scarlett Reef hermits. imo. (had one guy over 2 yrs., I had forgotten he made it through the tank crash...I do keep any eye on him because he is getting large.)