Hermit crab Mating

[drewbedobedoo]

So I have an electric blue hermit crab in my tank, Two yellow tails damsils, 1 maroon clown. I also have some mexican hermit crabs and blue legged hermits, bumble bee snalis, and two other snail types.

Has anyone ever had hermit crabs reproduce. How about the electric blue. I at one time had three electric blue hermit crabs and one elctric orange and the blue's killed each other. They were fighting over shells even though I provided lots of sheels and varying sizes.

Also The electric hermit crabs come from hawaii so I feel more that appropriate regulations are in place for overfishing of them. Has anyone heard anything on this as well.

[gwen_o_lyn]

My hermits have never mated- I think its pretty rare for that too happen. I have about 100 hermits in my tank.

[mopecula]

I agree with Gwen, I also never heard of or seen hermits mate but thats not to say its impossible.

[raermo]

I witnessed a female hermit being removed from her shell by a larger hermit. when she gave up the shell she was carring tons of eggs with her back legs. I never made any attempt to separate her from the display tank and never saw her release the eggs, but several months later I saw the tiniest hermit crab I have ever seen. Being a very sceptical person I am inclined to think that the very small hermit came in my tank as a hitchhiker, but its nice to think it might not have been.
for what its worth - Rachel

[Rob]

interesting observation..
i cant say that i have seen that before...

thanks for sharing, :D

[JustDavidP]

My hermit crabs mate often. Yours may be doing the same, but you just don't know it. They carry the eggs and disburse them after dark. I'm one of those tank nerds with calloused knees who is CONSTANTLY in front of my tank after the photo period ends. If you have the opportunity to do so, try it.

At night, if you are having a spawn, you can hold a flashlight to the tank and it will INSTANTLY attract the spawn. They look 'shrimp like' with an extended abdominal carapace that could make some think that they are cleaner shrimp. By the time morning comes, most, if not all of the fry, become "munchies" to the various inhabitants in your system. Unless you watch at night, you may never know this.

For what it's worth, Lysmata spawn RIGHT after the photo period. I now know the 'schedule' of my troop of peppermints and siphon the fry out of the tank for use in feeding my baby seahorses.

Before I sign off.. something to keep in mind....

I keep any and all snail shells that I acquire and keep a small pile of them tucked behind the LR in my tanks. This makes a convenient "shopping center" for the hermit crabs that need new shells. THEY DO NEED SHELLS after they molt to the point where their old shell is no longer suitable. By providing various sized shells (and shapes.. ie. blue legs like longer narrower shells while scarlets like turbo shaped shells) you will save yourself from the battles between crabs, and the losses of various snails within your system. FYI.. blue legged hermits LOVE nassarius shells and will decimate your snail population in searching for shells.

Be well

Dave

[raermo]

Lmao, at the fact that I'm not the only one who tosses the empty shells behind my live rock. But I never thought of it as a shopping center. Next time I can't see any hermits I'll know that they are shopping :D - Rachel

[JustDavidP]

Yay... Another Bostonian!

Rachel, how did you find Talking Reef? Oh..and are you a member of the Boston Reefers?

Dave

[gwen_o_lyn]

I'm not sure about Rachel, but once this website was linked to ReefKeeping *which was just recent* the numbers have really grown- with both downloads and members. I'm sure Rob wouldn't mind bragging about the stats too! YAY!!

[raermo]

I found the podcast on itunes and subscribed. After listening to a couple of the shows I visited this site a couple of times. I just subscribed to this site a couple of days ago even though I have been listening to the podcasts for a couple of months. Until this site I just was a forum troll on other reef sites, but I like the feel of this site so I decided to speak up!
I have to admit that listening to the podcasts makes the site more personable to me.
I'm not a member of boston reefers, what is boston reefers? :roll:
Maybe I should be - Rachel

[JustDavidP]

:) Rachel... the Boston Reefers Society is committed to promoting interest in and enjoyment of all aspects of the marine aquarium hobby by educating the public on topics related to the biology, physiology, and chemistry of reef biotopes through the sponsorship of meetings, lectures, publications, websites, competitions, exhibits and other means. Providing a forum for sharing resources and information among local aquarium enthusiasts. Supporting research, education and conservation efforts aimed at improving marine and coral reef environments. Involving and educating young people about aquatic life and the aquarium hobby. Fostering camaraderie, friendship, and appreciation of aquatic life.

And we enjoy good beer and frag swaps! :D Visit them at http://www.bostonreefers.org/index.php or the forums at http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/

I've been dragging a LOT of them to Talking Reef too! You should be seeing more of them as the days go on.

Dave

[raermo]

Thanks Dave I'll check it out. - Rachel

[Kassun]

JustDavidP: thanks for sharing the info. I have to admit, I do pull a few late nights with a red light sitting infront of our tank :).

[8251Reefer]

Mine have mated twice. I witnessed it. I had tons of these baby hermits swimming all over the place. I still have a few in the crevices of my rocks that I can only see at night with a flashlight but after the light shines on them they scatter like roaches.

[lilyofthevally]

My hubby and I have only been running our tank for like 2months... we went crab crazy right away and got like 18 crabs within a few weeks... we now have blue legs and a few variities of red, red with stripes, and one with blue and black legs, and one orangish one (my husbands the one with all the technical names down. Now i've got two scarlet's? (plain red leged) that have been attached by the shell opening for 3 or more days we thought they were dead but the keep moving, we also have two blue legs that are doing the same thing, are they fighting for shells? This I find hard to believe because we have alot of extra shells in the tank. But it's also hard to belive they'd be mating when we're barely an established tank? Any ideas?