Scarlet hermit eaten

[nufc]

When i got up this morning and looked in the tank my Boxing shrimp was eating one of my scarlet hermit crabs, do you think the shrimp killed it or it died. all i have in my 55gal is 5 turbos, 5 (now 4) scarlet hermits, 5 blue leg hermits, a cleaner wrass and a blue chromis.
any help wuld be great

 

[jbirdy]

Are you sure the hermit crab is dead? The shrimp could have been eating the hermit crab's molt. Our hermits crabs molt all the time. One day I thought my shrimp was eating our sally lighthfoot crab. A day later, sally came out from behind a rock. Turned out the shrimp was just eating the molt. We just paniced for nothing.
If he is dead, maybe your hermit died because you are not providing enough shells for him to switch into. DO you leave extra shells slightly larger than your current hermit crabs to switch into? If you don't leave bigger shells for them to switch into, they can die.

 

[i3luedragon]

Yes, starving crabs do eat anything, a vulnerable hermit is a viable target.

 

[@knight]

you mean starving shrimp eat anything???

 

[i3luedragon]

Yes, that too... hehehe...

 

[nufc]

Thanks for the replies
it must have been the skin, all hermits accounted for.