Hermit Crabs fighting???

1911_guy

1911_guy

Member
I'm assembling a cleanup crew for a new 75G. I bought 7 turbo snails and 1 hermit crab...LFS said to only put one hermit crab in because they will fight. Is she wrong? Most cleaner crew setups offer about 8-12 hermit crabs, right? Anyone else hear this rumor? I did a search and didn't find anything.
I have 85 lbs live rock
80 pounds live sand
4 powerheads
finishing plumbing on overflow box, skimmer and return pump
coralife pc light system
There is plenty of hair algae, left light on for too long. I'm also feeding the hermit krill once a day, about 2-3 krill.
 
S

sinner's girl

Guest
One hermit in 75gl? Yeah, right. Even if they do kill each other it's not a big deal. I have about 35 in my 75gl.
Get however many you want, and have lots of extra shell of lots of different sizes, hermit grow, but thier shells don't grow with them. They will use other hermit shells or snail shell. Just boil and empty shells before adding them.
No need to feed the hermits, they will clean up whatever they find.
 
K

kimc

Guest
Blue legs can be more agressive than scarlet hermit crabs. I have a mixture of both. And yea, sometimes they can be hateful, but that's just life on the reef...
 
pjmumie

pjmumie

Member
I have about 60 blue legged Hermit Crabs in my 72 gal bowfront and they don't fight. Even with the blue ones being more agressive than the scarlets, if one starts picking on another they just close up in their shell and hide for a few minutes.
I've never fed mine anything - if you have any kind of algae in your tank that is visable, then you will have PLENTY of food to feed your little guy. I would personally recommend getting a lot more. They are a great clean up crew addition.
When I feed my other fish, my hermits literally JUMP off my live rock to come over to the area where I am feeding my other fish, so they natually want to clean up any extra food left over in your tank. :happy:
 
xjayx

xjayx

Member
1, 2, 3,

FIGHT!

It's honestly fun to watch them wrestle and none of mine have ever really hurt each other.
But... All hermit crabs are semy aggressive... As long as you stick with the smaller blue legs or red legs you shouldn't have a problem. It's always important to have a lot of them though to keep your tank clean. I have 10 blue legs and 5 red legs in my 37 gal tank and I still think I need a few more.
 
1911_guy

1911_guy

Member
Originally Posted by Sinner's Girl
Get however many you want, and have lots of extra shell of lots of different sizes, hermit grow, but thier shells don't grow with them. They will use other hermit shells or snail shell. Just boil and empty shells before adding them.
No need to feed the hermits, they will clean up whatever they find.

Where do you get empty shells? Thanks, I thought that sounded wrong. My crab has red legs with spiny things on them. Don't know exactly what kind of hermit it is. I am getting more turbo snails too, they only had 7 in stock. Someone else got 10 right before me.
 
pjmumie

pjmumie

Member
Originally Posted by 1911_Guy
Where do you get empty shells? Thanks, I thought that sounded wrong. My crab has red legs with spiny things on them. Don't know exactly what kind of hermit it is. I am getting more turbo snails too, they only had 7 in stock. Someone else got 10 right before me.


You can order empty shells right here on SWF.
 
1911_guy

1911_guy

Member
Originally Posted by PJMumie
I've never fed mine anything - if you have any kind of algae in your tank that is visable, then you will have PLENTY of food to feed your little guy. I would personally recommend getting a lot more. They are a great clean up crew addition.

I guess that bag of krill should last me a LONG time then.
 
S

sinner's girl

Guest
Your lfs should have some, just ask for a few when you get your hermits. if not, ever go to the the beach? We have tons that have just been picked up. Plus we keep all shells when a snail or hermits dies...I might just have more shells than hermits.
 
mudplayerx

mudplayerx

Active Member
Blue leg hermit crabs are not really more agressive than any other hermit crab. The blue leggers have an odd tendancy to flip each other over and poke into each others shells which appears violent. In fact, this behavior is not violent at all and never results in the injury of a crab or the usurping of a shell. :)
I would like to say that this behavior is sexual in nature, but I have no proof.
 
speg

speg

Active Member
As far as having 1 in a 75 gallon tank... uh... if its like one of those insanely large type of hermit crabs that get like 5 inches across... then I wouldnt get more than one.. but if they are the reef safe blue legged/scarlet/zebra/blah blah that only get like a inch long at max size.. then thats just crazy.
Add several, but in my opinion you shouldnt overadd on these.. its really not necessary and they may start killing each other off for shells if they cannot find sufficient upgrades to suit their taste.
Also they are more aggressive towards snails than they are anything else... only when the snail has a shell that would be a better fit.
In a 75 gallon tank keep maybe 10 or so of various kinds and you shouldnt have ANY problem. Could get away with many more im sure, but its not really that necessary.
 
speg

speg

Active Member
No need to be sorry :) Thats what is wonderful about this hobby. Nothing wrong with different opinions.
You may see more success with that many hermits, I personally dont see the need for that many at all.
 
mudplayerx

mudplayerx

Active Member
Hehe, I think I spend more time and have more fun watching my hermit crabs in my tank than anything else. I could have saved thousands of bucks and did without the corals. I swear, hermit crabs are really entertaining when they fall off of the live rock onto their backs and get all paranoid when trying to flip back over.
 
monalisa

monalisa

Active Member
Originally Posted by mudplayerx
Hehe, I think I spend more time and have more fun watching my hermit crabs in my tank than anything else. I could have saved thousands of bucks and did without the corals. I swear, hermit crabs are really entertaining when they fall off of the live rock onto their backs and get all paranoid when trying to flip back over.

Yup!!

Lisa :happyfish
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top