Reg legged hermit snails

[peggy]

I'm losing my red-legg hermit crabs. No other type of crab, just the red-legged. Finding their body outside the shell. Everything from water temp to chemical levels is fine. I have a coral-banded shrimp in the tank. Could the shrimp be eating them? If not any ideas? Thanks.

 

[thomas712]

Welcome to the board, I have not personally kept the CBS in any tank that I have had, but have heard that some of them can be holy terrors. When you say your chemisty checks out fine did you also check for Iodine? Using a good quality salt mix? Any cloudiness when mixing the salt? CBS would really have no problem draging a hermit out of its shell if it were hungery enough.
Thomas

 

[peggy]

Thanks for the welcome. Glad to have found such a site. Adding iodine daily. I assume the salt is of good quality. The only brand sold at professional aquarium store where I purchase supplies. I mix the salt in a 30 gallon plastic bin. While there is an initial cloudiness of the salt being dispensed throughout the water it is gone as soon as the salt settles.
I feed flake food, shrimp pellets because I have two brittlestar and once a week frozen shrimp. I have tossed the CBS shrimp pellets that land right at his nose but they are ignored.

 

[booya]

Welcome
Do you have any other type of crabs ie.. blue leg?

 

[thomas712]

Originally posted by peggy
Thanks for the welcome. Glad to have found such a site. Adding iodine daily.
Here is a simple rule of thumb, if you add it then you should be able to test for it. Adding Iodine daily is most likely not a good idea. Iodine can be toxic and deadly at high levels. Most of us no longer even use additions of iodine as we feel that the water changes provide enough, or if we are adding trace elements that contain iodine that should be plenty. Have your LFS test your water for iodine and let me know what reading they say you have.
Thomas

 

[peggy]

Booya - I do have blue-leg crabs. They seem to be doing fine.
Thomas - I'm going to the LFS tomorrow after work so I will have them test the water for idodine and will let you know what I find out.

 

[booya]

My blue legs killed all but 3 of my red legs. I with I would have just got one or the other. If all of your reds get killed I would stick with the blues only. There is no need to waste money (a couple bucks a pop) on feeding you blue little red legged snacks.

 

[theplowking]

I have red and blue hermits. They seem to get along fine.
The crabs have started to knock off the snails. Last night I noticed
two crabs (R &B) that where sporting new snail shells.

 

[ackermsb]

Do you see the entire bodies or just legs here and there. Hermit crabs will molt as they grow and "shed" leaving remains around the tank.
If not chances are your blue-legs or CBS got to em

 

[peggy]

Thomas - LPS could not run test for iodine level. Losing the crabs started before I began adding iodine so not convinced this is the problem but I stopped adding it to see what happens.
Ackermsb - Did not know that crabs molted. Thanks for the information.
Thanks to everyone who responded to my question. Much appreciated

 

[thomas712]

Peggy - Just for your information natural sea water has a level of 0.05ppm. I would suggest you order a iodine test kit or at least do a water change on your tank as well as run fresh carbon to try to filter out whatever is happening to your tank. One ideal filter would be a poly filter which will absorb copper, phosphates and other impurities.
Thomas

 

[peggy]

Thomas - Thanks, will do