Hermits Dying? Snails Fine.

20galsw

20galsw

Member
My hermits decided to start leaving their shells and dying lately. Over the past 5 days or so, I've found 5 or more of my Red Tip hermits out of their shells dead just laying on the bottom of my aquarium. Previously I'd only find one dead every couple months or more, even while cycling. All of my blue tip hermits died relatively quickly though. I just figured them as not very tough. My pH sits around 7.8-8.0, and my Nitrates are a bit high. My snails are all fine though.
I recently switched from crushed coral to budget Sakrete Play Sand from Home Depot(crapy grey color), then to Bio Active Live Aragonite, so now i have no extra shells for them. Is it normal for Hermits to leave their shells and die every few days(or even one a day) if there are no new shells for them?
I'll double check my nitrates as I haven't checked them for a few days.
Thanks,
-David-
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Definitely work on getting nitrates down and the pH up, which I am sure you are. Just worried that pH is dropping even lower at times.
Get some extra shells fast too (though I suspect some are now empty). I guess it is possible that there is some aggression going on. It is not uncommon for some hermits to kill others to try out the shell.
 
20galsw

20galsw

Member
ophiura,
I only have Red Tip Hermits, I had them in my previous tank with no problems, and up until recently only occasionally found one dead. Also, I have switched my sand twice over the last 2 weeks. Originally from Crushed Coral, to Sakrete Play Sand, to Bio Active Live Aragonite.
I really don't know what to do to get my pH up, and/or the Nitrates down. Perhaps it's the fact that I only have 7lb Live Rock. I add Ocean's Blend Calcium/pH-Alkalinity 2-part every day. This also has most other trace elements in it. I dopped a few drops of the Oceans Blend pH-Alkalinity solution right into the test tube on my Salifert pH test kit, and the color darkened(higher pH). Religiously adding this to my tank has done nothing for the pH though. I'm curious how much the Calcium Solution is raising the Calcium as I can't test that. Maybe I should be adding more than recommended on the bottle, although I am already using near double the recommended amount.
Thanks,
-David-
 
20galsw

20galsw

Member
Leigh,
They look like entire hermit crabs, or my closest guess to what they would look like inside their shells. The claws and legs are still attached as well, and by the time i get to them theres still a small area of the body left behind their claws. They don't look like shedded snake skin, which is what i thought a molted crab or shrimp would look like.
Thanks,
-David-
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
I would definitely get the calcium tested, or get a test kit. I don't really like the sound of what is going on with that stuff. First thing I would do is take a sample to an LFS, and get it tested, especially for Calcium.
 
overanalyzer

overanalyzer

Active Member

Originally posted by 20galSW
Leigh,
They look like entire hermit crabs, or my closest guess to what they would look like inside their shells. The claws and legs are still attached as well, and by the time i get to them theres still a small area of the body left behind their claws. They don't look like shedded snake skin, which is what i thought a molted crab or shrimp would look like.
Thanks,
-David-
That sounds like a molt to me ....
I'd conduct a head count and then watch for your next dead crab out break ....
My crab molts look just as you described
 
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