I found a dead crab I didn't place in my tank!

[darth tang]

Ok, My seahorse tank hasd been running for about 3 months now. I have a few hermit crabs, snails,and an engineer goby in with the 2 horses. Here is the baffling thing......I found a dead hermit crab in my tank./ It was Bigger than any of my other crabs by atleast 2 times. So I know it wasn't one of my other crabs (as I have located them all) or a molt. My question is, would a hermit crab use Live rock as It's shell? This is the only feasible option I can come up with as for where it came from.

 

[aggies50]

Some times crabs will be in the live rock that you buy as a hitchhicker. He wouldn't have used the rock as his shell. He probably had a shell and when he died he came out of it. So the shell may be somewhere in your tank, maybe in the rock.

 

[darth tang]

It would have to have been a pretty large shell....that is what baffles me.

 

[skysmom]

You never know....land hermits have been found wearing trash as shells because they cannot find appropriate shells for them. This crab may have been in the situation that he couldn't find a shell and took up home in the rock. And since he couldn't move the rock, he starved himself to death.