reef safe?

yellowlogi

Member
I just got back from pensacola. I caught a bunch of hermit crabs they look all white do you know if it is okay to put these in my reef tank?
 

granny

Member
I doubt it, but dont know for sure. It is always risky adding anything wildcaught to your established tank. Suggest you put them in your quarantine tank for observation for a while till positively identified. you might also put some live rock inthere and see what they do. Are they hermits, not fiddler crabs?
 

yellowlogi

Member
yes they are hermits. I will post pictures of then as soon as i get a chance. and that is what I will be doing is putting them in my QT tank for now.
 

wanabebell

Member
Just think to yourself how much money have you spent on your reef (dont have to tell..just think) Now ask youself if its worth risking your corals
and in the reef business if there not reef safe there not going to eat your cheapest coral
there gonna eat the most expensive, rarest, favorite, coral you have
 

yellowlogi

Member
I know that... I am not putting them in my reef unless I know for sure they will be okay in there. That is why my first step is to ask on here. I am also looking online to see any info I can find. Here are some pictures to see if anyone can help.
Thanks


 

emperor11

Active Member
...Not trying to be a jerk, but you DO realize that this is illegal without proper permits, correct? Plus, why would you collect something you don't even know is suitable for your aquarium? What if they're not (sure doesnt look like it to me, judging by the claw shape)? Then you just decimated that many more critters from the reef. Just doesn't make sense to me, is all.
:notsure:
 

yellowlogi

Member
No it is not like that.. If they are not I am going back to florida in two days and I plan on bringing them back.
 

granny

Member
The temptation is alway so great to pick something up and bring it home. In the olden days that is how we supplied our tanks with critters-but so much of it was hit and miss and there were not laws governing the collection as so few individual hobbyists existed.
Dont feel too bad, but it would be better to put these guys back where they came from.
 

yellowlogi

Member
It looks like I will be putting them back.. In case you wanted to know I just found information on them online and it says they are Omnivorous. So it looks like road trip for the hermit crabs.
 

happyhourh

Member
I wouldnt put them back into their wild environment. Once you put it in your tank, they can pick up microorganisms that do not live in their natural environment. By releasing them you can introduce possible disease or parasites that could decimate the wild population. You could still see if they bother any corals or kill 'em, but dont put them back. Not trying to be mean at all but "next time, do a little research."
 

alyssia

Active Member
Originally Posted by happyhourh
I wouldnt put them back into their wild environment. Once you put it in your tank, they can pick up microorganisms that do not live in their natural environment. By releasing them you can introduce possible disease or parasites that could decimate the wild population. You could still see if they bother any corals or kill 'em, but dont put them back. Not trying to be mean at all but "next time, do a little research."

Agreed
 

ophiura

Active Member
Originally Posted by YellowLogi
It looks like I will be putting them back.. In case you wanted to know I just found information on them online and it says they are Omnivorous. So it looks like road trip for the hermit crabs.

Which is basically true of all hermit crabs, which is why some people will never put them in a reef tank - ANY hermit crab.
I agree that if you put them into a tank that had any other animals in it, that it is really not the best thing to return them to the wild. Maybe find someone with a FO tank or something...but returning them after they have been in a system with anything other than animals found from that area does present some (however minor) risk.
 
Top