Why Haven't the Scarlett Hermit Crabs Moved??

[tirtza]

I purchased 3 large Scarlett hermit crabs from the LFS 4 days ago (Saturday), and since they've been in the aquarium there has been minimal movement.
The tank is new (a 4.5 weeks), and the only other creatures (besides live rock w/ zoa button polyp coral) are
-one Mexican Turbo Snail (who is very healthy and always at work - cleaning)
-a Lawn Mower Blenny (who is also very healthy - large appetite/eating away at the long hair algae on my live rock and back of the aquarium)
The water parameters are very good
salinity = 1.025
temperature = 77.6
pH = 8.1
Ammonia = 0
Nitrites = 0
Nitrates = 0
One crab did move 2 days ago ( on top of another crab). I'm positive they are all 3 alive, I've occasionally seen their little eyes/legs move a little out of their shells and when I nudge their shells they quickly move all the way inside. I moved all three to different spots in the aquarium yesterday (one on the live rock, the other two on small patches of hair algae on the sand). All three are still not moving around the aquarium. I'm afraid they are going to eventually starve to death!
Can anyone tell me what's possibly wrong with them? Could they be sick? Should I take them out of the aquarium?

 

[saxman]

The hermits may still be acclimating, but remember that hermits are nocturnal and don't do much during the daylight hours. Also, if they're still alive, leave them be (if you're in doubt, give them a quick sniff, and you'll KNOW if they've died).
Our scarlets have learned when it's feeding time for the preds, and will line up to be stick fed right along with the fish. You can try offering them a small meaty treat and see if they take it.

 

[tirtza]

They are certainly still alive (at least they were when I checked last night). I picked up each shell and could see the crab quickly withdraw inside. They are in exactly the same place as they were when I set them back down in the aquarium, so I'm pretty sure they weren't moving around last night. Hopefully they are still just acclimating!
What sort of meaty treat should I offer them? I have some cubes of frozen brine shrimp that are left over from when I used to have a freshwater aquarium. Will that work? If so, how would you recommend I feed them? Those cubes have been in the freezer for about 3 months...are they still 'good'?

 

[saxman]

To be honest, BS really isn't very meaty, but it should still be good. Omnivorous crabs will pretty much eat anything. I typically just give them a small bit of whatever I'm feeding our other fish.
You can just kinda place it near the crab. One of our hermits actually rolls over on its back and puts its claws up to grab its dinner when I bring it over to it. Then it grabs the food and I gently wiggle it off the stick.

 

[tirtza]

Thanks so much for your advice Saxman! I really appreciate you taking the time to reply
Okay, I won't try feeding them any BS since it isn't very meaty and I've read that it doesn't really have any nutritional value. I think I'll just throw the BS out, since there doesn't really seem to be any reason to use it.
The only fish I have right now is a Lawn Mower Blenny whose been feasting on long hair algae in my aquarium, so I haven't actually purchased any food yet. The LMB is very plump! When the long hair algae starts to really run out I plan on buying some 'sea lettuce' (nori) and attaching it to a couple of rocks.
The reason I haven't added any other fish yet is because it's still such a new aquarium (only 4.5 weeks old). The aquarium has long been done with the first cycle (the live rock created a great baseline biofilter), but I just want to be really causious and take my time. I did have a couple of Blue Damsels in there (for a little over 2 weeks) that I returned to the LFS, so I still have some flake food leftover. Should I throw that out too?
You said that you would give your crabs a bit of whatever you are feeding your other fish....what would that be exactly?? Should I get some of those tongs that are used for holding fish food?
I'm thinking of adding a couple of clownfish in one or two weeks. What is the best thing to feed them, and would it work for the crabs as well?