hermit crab ID
- Thread starter Kazarko
- Start date
KidJ57
Struggling Reef Addict
My friend, you have just purchased a monster...the goat of the sea (you know how goats will eat anything, even tin cans? same thing)...a white spotted hermit (Dardanus Megistos) from Indonesia/North Australia. These guys can grow up to 8" in the wild and they eat EVERYTHING!
If you are looking to have a predator tank, have fun...if you plan on having a reef tank take him back. Me, personally I love my hermie and refuse to get rid of him, but I just have to be very selective about what I put in my tank. Mine so far has eaten two different coral, one dying fish, 30+ snails (margaritta, astera, and turbo), one skunk shrimp, some of my rock (not a joke, but it was petrified coral more than plain rock) and one pencil urchin. Essentially, he is just about the only thing you can have as far a cleaning crew, with that he will keep your sand SPOTLESS unless he starts to molt, then you'll have a week or two of build up. Also, he is resiliant as all hell, as I have had 3-4 different tank disasters since I've owned mine and while fish have died off, he is still kickin' as ever.
Two fun posts where I was showin' off my guy:
https://www.livingreefs.com/hermit-molting-t21500.html
https://www.livingreefs.com/crab-kong-t19967.html
If you have ANY questions just let me know. I went through hell and back trying to find what I could about this guy as the only info you get typically is, "It's mean, it's big, get rid of it, put it in a separate tank". (didn't help that my LFS told me it was called a "Fuzzy Hermit"). Nonetheless, I have done some research and experimented with some trial and error so I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about this little guy (still got some learnin' to do though).
Hope that helps and that you keep him!
If you are looking to have a predator tank, have fun...if you plan on having a reef tank take him back. Me, personally I love my hermie and refuse to get rid of him, but I just have to be very selective about what I put in my tank. Mine so far has eaten two different coral, one dying fish, 30+ snails (margaritta, astera, and turbo), one skunk shrimp, some of my rock (not a joke, but it was petrified coral more than plain rock) and one pencil urchin. Essentially, he is just about the only thing you can have as far a cleaning crew, with that he will keep your sand SPOTLESS unless he starts to molt, then you'll have a week or two of build up. Also, he is resiliant as all hell, as I have had 3-4 different tank disasters since I've owned mine and while fish have died off, he is still kickin' as ever.
Two fun posts where I was showin' off my guy:
https://www.livingreefs.com/hermit-molting-t21500.html
https://www.livingreefs.com/crab-kong-t19967.html
If you have ANY questions just let me know. I went through hell and back trying to find what I could about this guy as the only info you get typically is, "It's mean, it's big, get rid of it, put it in a separate tank". (didn't help that my LFS told me it was called a "Fuzzy Hermit"). Nonetheless, I have done some research and experimented with some trial and error so I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about this little guy (still got some learnin' to do though).
Hope that helps and that you keep him!
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The particular place where I got him called him a red legged hermit crab. I just thought he was a very large red legged hermit crab and oh boy was I wrong. This guy did not stop growing and I think I know why almost all my snails have dissapeared and I can't for the life of me keep the rocks clean of algae. he is doing a great job stirring the sand... I found him sitting ontop of the heater once, no clue how he climbed the long rod shaped heater, so he can probably get around to anywhere in the tank and no corals are safe. My fishes are ignoring him for now...maybe my clownfish should be running away instead...
This hermit crab will get bigger than my clown, that's for sure. I always wanted a large invert in my tank but not like this.
This guy isn't the prettiest thing but he makes up for it with absolute toughness.
I think I will need some larger shells.
This hermit crab will get bigger than my clown, that's for sure. I always wanted a large invert in my tank but not like this.
This guy isn't the prettiest thing but he makes up for it with absolute toughness.
I think I will need some larger shells.
dcantucson
Reef pro
I think I will need some larger shells.
.............. and maybe a larger tank! :bounce:
.............. and maybe a larger tank! :bounce:
Bifferwine
I am a girl
I think I need some larger boobs...
Oh wait, was I speaking my thoughts out loud again?
Oh wait, was I speaking my thoughts out loud again?
dcantucson
Reef pro
:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
Ain't nothing with small, teeney, tiny boobs Biff. Don't let anybody tell you different. :mrgreen:
KidJ57
Struggling Reef Addict
Now you know there's something wrong when I'm actually giving advice on topic and Biff starts talking about boobs :12: what the hell happened? :lol: ....Don't get me wrong, I like it, I'm just confused by it.
...back to topic, YES, you will need a bigger shell, and when I was looking for one, no one had one, not my LFS's, not Petco/Petsmart, none of those places. And then when you go online, it's tough to judge how big they actually are. A bunch of people told me to go to Michael's or Joanne's (Craft Stores) couldn't find them there either. So I ended up going to a gift shop by the beach that specialized in decorative shells (later found another even closer than the one I went to :frustrat: ) and got a few different sizes for Hermie to pick through. Luckily he picked my favorite of the colorations, which I was worried was going to be to big especially how he couldn't move it at first, only drag it. Within a month or two, he was back to climbing the rocks/plumbing and doing all his other circus tricks (i.e. hand/claw stands, cart wheels, etc :lol: ) These guys are definitely entertaining. If you need some shells let me know, I can send you a few -- not for free, but if you can't find 'em anywhere else I'd be glad to help.
And yes, that is where your snails have gone, but no you don't have to worry about your clown, at least not for a long while. I'm about to have to upgrade his shell again and he hasn't bothered my clown at all, except when he's eating and the fish are trying to snag a pellet or two...then he swats them away, but never really makes contact. As for the algae on your rock, I would try a sea hare; I got one and my crab didn't bother it, the only problem is that sea hare's are VERY touchy, they need consistent water parameters, good long acclimation time and supplemented food when the algae is all gone, which will probably be gone in 2 weeks or less in your 55 gallon tank. I fed mine with some Chaeto, but he may have enjoyed it TOO much as my LFS guy suggested that he could have gorged himself to death.
The other trick I found was keeping the crab well fed and using turbo snails, those seemed to last the longest (one made it almost 3 months if I remember correctly) but that's only if you spot feed the guy like twice a day...by that point you kind of have to pick your battles of constantyl buying new snails or having to do more water changes/cleaning out your protein skimmer more often.
...back to topic, YES, you will need a bigger shell, and when I was looking for one, no one had one, not my LFS's, not Petco/Petsmart, none of those places. And then when you go online, it's tough to judge how big they actually are. A bunch of people told me to go to Michael's or Joanne's (Craft Stores) couldn't find them there either. So I ended up going to a gift shop by the beach that specialized in decorative shells (later found another even closer than the one I went to :frustrat: ) and got a few different sizes for Hermie to pick through. Luckily he picked my favorite of the colorations, which I was worried was going to be to big especially how he couldn't move it at first, only drag it. Within a month or two, he was back to climbing the rocks/plumbing and doing all his other circus tricks (i.e. hand/claw stands, cart wheels, etc :lol: ) These guys are definitely entertaining. If you need some shells let me know, I can send you a few -- not for free, but if you can't find 'em anywhere else I'd be glad to help.
And yes, that is where your snails have gone, but no you don't have to worry about your clown, at least not for a long while. I'm about to have to upgrade his shell again and he hasn't bothered my clown at all, except when he's eating and the fish are trying to snag a pellet or two...then he swats them away, but never really makes contact. As for the algae on your rock, I would try a sea hare; I got one and my crab didn't bother it, the only problem is that sea hare's are VERY touchy, they need consistent water parameters, good long acclimation time and supplemented food when the algae is all gone, which will probably be gone in 2 weeks or less in your 55 gallon tank. I fed mine with some Chaeto, but he may have enjoyed it TOO much as my LFS guy suggested that he could have gorged himself to death.
The other trick I found was keeping the crab well fed and using turbo snails, those seemed to last the longest (one made it almost 3 months if I remember correctly) but that's only if you spot feed the guy like twice a day...by that point you kind of have to pick your battles of constantyl buying new snails or having to do more water changes/cleaning out your protein skimmer more often.
Time to head out to the LFS(s). I doubt I can find a sea hare in any stores around.
Well there is one store that carries absolutely everything I can imagine(like dragon eels), but I hate the customer service and store management there. The better LFS around me are more limited in what types of livestock they have, but I'll look around.
Maybe I need to look for some large conch shells. My hermit crab currently is wearing a shell from one of my huge mexican turbo snails. It was disappointing to put in that giant snail and realize the next morning someone ate it. This guy is very active at night!
Well there is one store that carries absolutely everything I can imagine(like dragon eels), but I hate the customer service and store management there. The better LFS around me are more limited in what types of livestock they have, but I'll look around.
Maybe I need to look for some large conch shells. My hermit crab currently is wearing a shell from one of my huge mexican turbo snails. It was disappointing to put in that giant snail and realize the next morning someone ate it. This guy is very active at night!
RyanG
Reef enthusiast
I think you are right Spiffy! :mrgreen: Then we need a new duct tape photo :shock: Although azz>breastises
Tristan
Detritus
True.
