Damsel?

[ReeferMama]

i was wondering if yellowtailed blue damsels kill hermit crabs?

i bought 3 but for some reason 2 have just come out of their shells and died. and the one thats still alive was bigger than the others.

all my levels r normal. i have thriving growth on my live rock. anemones r fine. the damsel is the only fish n the tank (he came w it) and is very territorial. ive seen him point at them before but nothing too alarming.

any thoughts?

 

[Ted]

Wow thats a new one. I wouldnt think a damsel could hurt a hermit. I guess it could happen. I would think if they where new to the tank that it would be more likely either to fast a acclimation or they where stressed from transport.

 

[cthegame]

its highly unlikely that it was the damsel that killed 2 of them. Probably either bad acclimation or some issue with the water that stressed them out.

 

[ReeferMama]

i thought it was stress from transport too at first but the first didnt die until 3 weeks after i got them and the second was 2 weeks after the first.

fish store experts r stunted too.

ill keep watching and see if anything else seems off.

thanx for the replies

 

[yote]

It could be that the bigger hermit killed the other 2.I've seen that happen quiet a bit.

 

[Sharkie]

it was probably the only hermit left... hermit crabs will go after and kill other crabs for shells, food, and even just because. I had a nice big hermit that did a really good job cleaning but he liked to kill my snails and other hermits...

go pick up some extra shells and put em in your tank :) i did that and have no more fighting/deaths! :D

 

[dcantucson]

Also, is there enough food in there for them? If not you can place 1-2 pellets in front of them with a turkey baster so they get enough to eat.

 

[ReeferMama]

Theres plenty of food (algae). i thought it was over eating at first but that didnt seem too likely. the bigger one could of killed the others but hes not that much bigger. and i have lots of big shells already n there.

its ok. thanx to u all for ur replies :-)

 

[Melosu58]

Theres plenty of food (algae).

Most hermits dont eat algea. Yes you`ll find some but you need to put some in there for them to eat. I know when I had my hermits they would not touch algea.

 

[winyfrog]

how did you acclimate them?

 

[ReeferMama]

what do they(hermits) eat?

i was told to add a cup of my water to the bag every 5 mins. but ive had them for 3 weeks before the first died then 3 weeks after that when the second died.

 

[yote]

Hermits aint picky.They'll eat just about anything from left over fish food to dead and dying fish.

 

[OmegaOmega]

what do they(hermits) eat?

i was told to add a cup of my water to the bag every 5 mins. but ive had them for 3 weeks before the first died then 3 weeks after that when the second died.

I do see my hermits cleaning and picking through my coral rock eating algae, but I also use a few sinking pellets that they love. They'll literally jump off the coral rock and go after the pellets - they're also great at grabbing any mysis shrimp that get caught in the coral rocks from feeding.

 

[Bifferwine]

I'd bet on the remaining hermit over the damsel.

 

[winyfrog]

+1 biff