My Watchman is eating my crabs!
- Thread starter tall_90
- Start date
N
nereef
Guest
is it eating hermit crab molts?
nicetry
Active Member
I have a pink spotted shrimp goby (big bugger at close to 4.5 inches) who will pick off hermits from time to time. I've watched him grab the slow moving crabs as they walk by his den. He takes them inside and my guess is he sucks them out of their shells. My crab population has dwindled. I've thought of removing him but I like the fishes behavior.
The YWG are smaller but I suppose they would be capable of the same thing.
The YWG are smaller but I suppose they would be capable of the same thing.
scsinet
Active Member
He may not be eating them.
Mine does the same thing, but he's dug out his burrow so deep that it's down to the glass and I can look up under the stand with a flashlight and watch him.
He takes the crabs in his mouth, probably set off by the movement, and take them to his burrow. Once he figures out that he can't get the crabs out, he spits them out and lets them crawl off.
IMO, it's pretty difficult to completely extract a hermit crab from it's shell, they have a remarkably strong hold.
Mine does the same thing, but he's dug out his burrow so deep that it's down to the glass and I can look up under the stand with a flashlight and watch him.
He takes the crabs in his mouth, probably set off by the movement, and take them to his burrow. Once he figures out that he can't get the crabs out, he spits them out and lets them crawl off.
IMO, it's pretty difficult to completely extract a hermit crab from it's shell, they have a remarkably strong hold.