stupid question 1-my hermit crabs seem to get stuck from time to time in the cracks of my rock. every day i see one kicking its legs ,but hes not goin anywhere. so i take my "poking stick" and poke him out. is that normal?, or do i sound like an idiot? should i just leave them to figure it out on there own?
stupid question 2-when my cleaner shrimp sheds his skin, should i remove it from the tank, or will the crabs and worms and stuff clean it up?
o kay, thats it, for now.
Answer to NOT stupid question 1 - If I see a stuck one, I'll move him once or twice...after that, their on their own. If they get desperate, they'll leave the shell and grab another one.
Anwer to NOT stupid question 2 - I leave the molt in there. It's gone before the day is over. In the properly balanced tank, everything has something else that will eat it. Well, hopefully not your corals and fish...
__________________ T.J.
Got a great tip for the TalkingReef? Send them in to: tips@podcop.net
Hey Pod-Cop... welcome to TR and thank you for keeping up with the TR traditions. More specifically, letting hobbyists know that "there are no stupid questions except for those not asked". We at the TR appreciate your membership and your excellent input...
Mhatt...yes, if you have the opportunity to "right" the critter, do so. Otherwise, TJ is right. When the time is right (safe) and if all else fails, the crab will leave its shell and find another. With that said, it is good practice to keep some larger, similar type, shells in a system that houses hermit crabs. They, unlike snails, do not grow shells, but depend on a supply of 'vacant homes' to move into as they molt, grow, and need more elbow room. I keep about 1/2 dozen empty shells in the back corner of my tank. This seems to work for me. If you have too many, they can become detritus traps and cause water quality issues.
I too leave the shrimp molts in my system unless they go for a long time without being ingested. I'm not too worried about them because I have a large-ish clean up crew. In some cases, when they molt, via a process called ecdysis, the critter may need to or wish to eat its own molt. This helps them get the calcium and other nutrients required to harden its new exoskeleton.
You may notice that the crab or shrimp is "missing" for some time. No worries; This is typically when they consume the skeleton, and hide out while their new 'armor' is strenghtening. During the first couple days after a molt, they are very succeptible to predatory behaviors by others as they are very soft and defenseless.
when i first set up my tank 2.5 years ago my first thing i bought was a scarlet leg hermit. after about 6 months i added some more rock and never saw him again figured he got stuck under a rock. since then i have never gotten that kind again. well about 3 weeks ago i was feeding my fish and happend to look under two of my base rock and what do i see some little legs waving around. there was my little lost hermit. i gave the rock a lift and let me tell you, it was what i would think to be a new breed of cheeta hermit as he ran for his life from between rock. he lived for 2 year stuck under some rocks. it gose to show you that they can live "under" any conditions
Best thing about molting inverts is when you paid good money for something colorful, like a banded coral or blood shrimp. Every time it molts, it's a new minor heart attack as you peer around your tank trying to figure out if that extremely whole-looking dead shell is a molted shrimp or a dead shrimp.
__________________ George
Smyrna, GA
25g reef
Coming Soon: 60g Ocea Cube (24"^3)
Bottom line, hermits probably get stuck and die in the wild all the time. You know... that "natural selection" thing and all...
But you paid good money for that hermit crab. You should help it out.
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icon under there name and give them Reputation points
ryan 
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