Mr. Hermit Crab

[Ryan]

Not sure but I think he either died or molted. I saw a chunk of red legs from the looks of it laying on the sand. Our peppermint shrimp just molted and maybe thought he did the same thing. The chunk of red legs has a white clear part hanging off of it or is at the base of it. No sign of his shell anywhere. Any ideas?

 

[Ryan]

Fish, snails, and peppermint shrimp are doing very good.

 

[yote]

Hermits seem to molt a lot.

 

[Ryan]

Is that what happens is that you see parts of them or does it stay in tact?

 

[Bifferwine]

They can break up into parts. I bet he molted too. I think if he had really died, he would have been eaten up by something else pretty quickly.

 

[Ryan]

Really Biff? What would've eaten him? Would my clowns eat him?

 

[yote]

Bristle worms flock to a dead corpse.They'll wipe it out in no time.
And you'd be surprised to know just how many you have in your tank.

 

[Ryan]

Thanks Yote. Would you still say he's using his original outer shell for a home or would you think he's looking for a bigger shell? Also, when they molt, does it look like the parts just fell off? Like his legs or are they supposed to be clear like my shrimp's molt was?

 

[yote]

Depends on how tight the old shell is after they molt.I've seen then go shell hunting just before the molt,and seen them use the old shell untill for another molt.
Hermit molts arent as clear like shrimps either.They look more like pieces of crab.

 

[Ryan]

Very strange... he appeared today in his shell. I have no idea what those red legs were from? Hmmmm.....

 

[Bifferwine]

From him molting.