Hermit Crabs - Snail Slayers?

[maxsmart]

I have read conflicting stories about whether Hermit Crabs are suitable for reef aquariums. I have 3 of them, all supposed to be "Blue Leg Hermits" (though one has RED legs). They upgraded shells - to snail shells. Two of them have black snail shells, one has a turbo snail shell. It is possible they found a dead snail behind the liverocks, but I am worried they killed my snails. Should I get rid of these things before they kill again? Or are they OK? Or should I put them in the sump?

 

[chadman]

i have had ten plus hermits in my tank with five snails for about a month or two since i have had my tank set up...and i have had no dead snails only a few dead hermits which were red legs which the blue legs took out and just left there shells

 

[happyhourh]

My blue legs killed most of my cerith snails. My baja red legs all took up shop in shells I threw in there that have been sitting in a drawer for 8 years. I always think my hermits are dying off but when I get a full count they are all here. The dead bodies are usually molts.

 

[rcbruce]

While it is possible a hermit would kill a snail, it's usually for it's shell, not food. If you put in enough empty shells for the crabs to move in to when they grow, you don't usually have a problem. While I know some people use one or the other, I can't imagine my reef without both. The biggest problem I ever had was one crab got really big and turned cannibal, killing my other crabs. Needless to say, when I caught him on top of one trying to dig it out of it's shell, the big crab came out of the tank and went to the happy hunting grounds in the sky!

I have a 55 with about 10 snails and about the same amount of crabs and other than that one incident between crabs, they all pretty much ignore each other and do their own thing.

 

[wax32]

I keep probably 30 or more empty shells of all sizes in my tank at all times. I also feed my fish a lot, and the hermits get lots of food because of that. None of mine eat snails or each other (since they aren't starving). I have about 30 snails of various types and maybe a few more hermits than that. The important thing is to add your crew slowly, adding a few at a time as your tank matures. This way no animal starves.

 

[tnt]

I agree that you should keep lots of empty shells in your tank to discourage hermits killing snails. However, this does not guarantee they will not. I keep lots of empty shells in my tank, yet I still had a thinstripe hermit take down one of my turbos. Sometimes they just decide that's the one they want. My hermit wore this shell for 2 weeks and then changed to another one. I guess it's like buying clothes without trying them on first!

 

[maxsmart]

The snail-slaying hermit crab killed one of my peppermint shrimp last night! These are the only thing I have really regretted buying.

 

[nm reef]

I'm another of those that refuses to hate and encourages a diversity of life in my reef. I've always maintained relatively large numbers of snails/crabs/shrimp and will continue to do so. I agree that keeping extra shells available and providing plenty of food can help but it is a natural process to have die off and it is a natural prey/predator situation where sometimes crabs will make a meal of a snail if the opportunity arises. Diversity is a key component of a well established and maintained marine system.....without snails and crabs I think a system would be rather barren myself.....
...and the photographic evidence indicates that yup....if given opportunity a crab will dine on freah snail........but nope....I'm not going to panic and "hate" my crabs......

 

[maxsmart]

Originally Posted by NM reef
...and the photographic evidence indicates that yup....if given opportunity a crab will dine on freah snail........but nope....I'm not going to panic and "hate" my crabs......
Yeah, I was putting up with losing 80 cent snails and taking it OK.. but these peppermint shrimp aren't cheap! I see yours is a true blue leg crab - mine was supposed to be, but once it grew, I could see its legs were quite red. Maybe I'll have better luck with a blue-leg one. I actually was thinking of going with a couple emerald crabs instead.

 

[100 guppi]

yeah it could just be their HUNGRY thats what hermit crabs do. And maybe you didn't have any shells they liked.DDDDDDDDDDDUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

 

[dogstar]

I do hate crabs.....most all are or will be killers. IMO, a healthy system dose not need em....

 

[clown52]

I think bluelegs are the worst about snail killing. Scarlets are no where near as bad IMO.

 

[maxsmart]

Here is my crab, can somebody identify him? I believe it is a scarlet hermit crab, but I cannot be sure.. the aquarium store (a VERY reputable one that supplies many others) sold them as blue-leg hermits, though since they were pea-sized when I got them it was hard to tell leg color.