Blue legged hermit crab question

[Fastlight]

My wife and I were looking into our aquarium when we see a hermit with no shell. First off how long will he live like this? 2nd question do hermits molt? Because we found in the back of the aquarium hemit legs...so did something go down? Did we have a murder or a molting. needless to say i need shells for these guys. :grumble: What do you think?

 

[dustin_P74]

hermits can and do molt.

 

[reeffreak]

I'm not sure how long they will live without a shell.They do molt just like all crustaceans.

 

[Fastlight]

Cool I hope he just molted...but im concerned because we dont have xtra shells laying around. Ill have to go to my lfs and get some.

 

[d2mini]

Maybe he's a nudist. Or maybe his buddies dared him to streak after one two many cold ones. :mrgreen:

 

[Gooseman]

hermits also just die for no particular reason ... i find one every once in a while that has died and another empty shell appears ... circle of life i guess

 

[Jojo1628]

They just molted...I see those legs all the time...it's nothing to worry about, if they die just replace them if you like them, they can't live outside of their shell for long...so make sure you have plenty large enough shells hang'n around for them

 

[Bifferwine]

They do molt, and when they outgrow their current shell, they will leave it behind and go in search of a new one. This is why hermits tend to kill snails, for their shells. If you go to your LFS and pick out a handful of differently sized shells for the hermits to grow into, there's less of a chance they'll kill snails for them, but it'll still happen.