will hermit crabs die if they can't find shell?

[ccrljmr]

I just added my clean uppers, and had 1 casualty so far. One of my blue hermits died- I thnk it's because he couldn't find a suitable shell. I have extra shells, but it kept going between one that had a hole in it and one that was too big. Could this stress the animal out and kill it? Just curious- I hope this doesn't start a trend in my new tank....

 

[bigarn]

If there's no predators in the tank they can survive without a shell....... tank with predators= snack time!

 

[jobob]

was it a molt? and one of my blue legs got his shell stolen and was left clinging to my xenia for dear life lol so i picked up a shell and helped him in it. so if he molted to fit into the bigger shell. it would look like he died.

 

[snipe]

It is best to have many diffrent sizes and shapes for them to choose from I have over 200 extra shells in my tank just for them to find the one they want. There all hid so they can find them but you cant see them clutter the tank.

 

[texasex]

Actually, if you have blue legs, I would say that he didn't just die, but that he was a casualty of the "crab wars." Hermits are stinkers, and will kill another one for it's shell, sometimes despite the fact that you have plenty of other shells in the tank. I have 50 extra shells for 10 hermit crabs in a 29 gallon, and sometimes they still think that the one that the other guy has is better than anything lying around.

 

[snipe]

I have hermits and I have yet to see them fight each othe for shells and there blue leg hermits.

 

[ccrljmr]

Yes, it definately is dead. The 2 shells he was going between are lying right next to him. One of the scarlets is has been munching on his carcass. I do need more shells, though. i have 10 hermits (well, 9 now) but there is only about 6-7 extra shells in the tank. Hermit crabs are freakin gross.

 

[wax32]

My hermits are actually my favorite creatures in the tank!

 

[mudplayerx]

Hermit crabs are social animals, and members of the same species will not attack one another. I have actually seen one blue-legged hermit inspect a shell, then leave it alone as soon as he saw it was occupied.
If you see hermit body parts in your tank then 99% of the time it is a molt. Hermit molts are uncanny in their ability to look like dead crabs.

 

[dea_mt]

yes i agree...i have seen like 20 "dead hermits" in my tank and i only bought 10

 

[mudplayerx]

Also keep in mind that if you buy spare shells at your lfs for the hermits, a lot of them may have come from their fish tanks.
I have bought shells before and put them in my tank, only to find parts of dead hermit crabs all over the tank the next day. This was because my hermits switched to the new shells, but some of the new shells already had dead, dried-up crabs in them.

 

[ccrljmr]

OK that makes sense. When we first bought them last week, my girlfriend pulled out what she said was a dead scarlet hermit- but i could see each of the 5 scarlets we bought in the tank alive and well.
Now will the molts cause the water quality to degrade? Do they need to be removed right away?

 

[mudplayerx]

I originally removed the molts, but now I just leave them in there to break back down. Doesn't seem to affect my water quality at all.

 

[snipe]

The molt really isnt a body part like the meat or organs or anything it is the hard exo skelleton of the hermit or crab. Other things in the tank will usually eat this before it has a chance to break down.
Best way to tell if the hermit is dead or not is to look for color if it pale in some places were it is usually bright like my sally lightfoot crabs have green on the legs when they molt there is not color there.