I Hate Blue Leg Hermits!!!

entice59

entice59

Active Member
GEEZ, my beautiful scarlet reef hermit was murdered by the largest blue leg, that dirty SOB, now i hate blue legs, do they actually grow to be the huge ones i saw in the LFS? im thinking about giving the blue legs to my friend and buying a couple of scarlets...
i noticed this when i was feeding mytank mysis shrimp and was wondering why the cleaner hasnt been scareing my blenny away, when i looked carefuly, IT WAS MY SCARLET!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, i tried to get the corpse back but the cleaner is holding it to dear life....
 
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thomas712

Guest
Try to isolate the hermit, find something like a plastic container with screw on lid that you can drill holes in. I use the smallest tupperware containers to isolate small critters like this. Put a shell in there to if you can.
Good luck
Thomas
 
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thomas712

Guest
Distract the cleaner with another piece of food if you can. Perhaps us the net and threating to take him out of the water.
 
reef fool

reef fool

Active Member
Just a note....I believe any larger hermit will rip out any smaller hermit and especially snails to try on their shell. Been there had it happen to mine! Zebra's and blue legs seem to be more aggressive though.
 
sgt__york

sgt__york

Member
Keep in mind - Hermit are not just in tanks for aestetics - but to do a job - which they do very well.
I put about 20 blue legs and 10 scarlets in my tank (75 gal) and now after about 4.5+ months - about 15+ blues are still run'n around cleaning - and id 'say about 8+ scarlets are still there.
Blue hermits will fight anything with a shell on - not just scarlets.
Funniest thing - i watched 3 blue legs fighting the other day - all 3 had a shell - but one wanted the SMALLER shell (so he thought - he just wants what he doesn't have) - and WHILE he is trying to take his - someone else wanders up and decided he'll take HIS! The 3 of them fought (i did you not) for 12 hours!!! lol They stayed within a 2inch area on the substrate and were there for 12 hours before finally getting bored with it. All 3 survived and are run'n around the tank now.
Don't hate a hermit for being rough and tumble with each other - i dont think it's simply a species thing - it's what they do. They pick on each other as well. You got a shell??? They wanna try it on. But they do a good job at cleaing the tank as well. I wouldn't be without em. And if i have to replace a few every 6months or so - they are not that expensive - consider it the cycle of life. But i'd honestly say the ones i have spend 80% of their time forageing than fighting.
*ponders a second - recalling a story about aquarium folklore - algea growing out of a tank*
Did you hear the one about the blue leg hermit crab that ate a snapper turtle and took it's shell???? *grin*
 
entice59

entice59

Active Member
ok but half of its body is missing =( and its still alive but i dont know if it will make it but i used an old bloodworm feeding container for fw tank as a protective dome, it only has the right side of its legs left i really hope it will survive tonight
 
entice59

entice59

Active Member
should i just kill it and stop the suffering? or should i wait until it will heal... if it can... =(
 
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ricksreef

Guest
if it's just legs/claws missing,
they'll grow back on the next
molt.do you have any way to
isolate it (sump/fuge)?
 
entice59

entice59

Active Member
its like a cone but it its clear and has holes , i placed it against the glass like this
cone~ <| ~ glass
i dont have a sump or a fuge though i wish i did
its not just the legs, half of its body has been eaten =(, the lower half where its supposed to be in the shell...
 
krishj39

krishj39

Active Member
If the whole back half of the crab is gone, then i'm afraid your crab will die. Have you considered that what you are seeing may just be the shed shell of the scarlet hermit? When they molt, their exoskeleton looks just like a half eaten hermit. Just thought I'd mention that as a possiblity if weren't aware of it.
 
danrw84

danrw84

Active Member
get another one, he's a goner
they will fight eachother and kill eachother. you just have to drop 1 or 2 more in the tank every so often. its the circle of life!
 
entice59

entice59

Active Member
but its been with me for sooooooo long, sad really, no its not a shell from the molt, otherwise it woudnt be moving, hanging to dear life...
 
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