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Innovative Marine Aquariums

Scarlet Hermit Problems


uwdanno

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I added a Scarlet Hermit to my pico 4 gal about 3 weeks ago. He was fine for about 2 weeks but in the last week he has gone weirdo on me. He hasn't moved from the same location for a week. 2 days ago I found a good chunk of what I thought was his legs and body on the bottom of the tank. I scooped out the body parts and decided to leave his shell in the tank for future homeowners.

 

 

Well today I went looking around and caught him peaking out of his shell! He isnt dead. Could that have been him molting? Any ideas on why he refuses to move?

 

 

Also in the tank is a Turbo snail and two blue leg hermits.

 

 

Here is where he has been posted for a week. (Right side of top rock)

ce00c6d2c95005f8dc04f66e38d13dd3.jpg

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Before and after molting they will move less, it takes a lot of energy and after they molt they hide kinda because they are still soft.

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Mine seem to shut down for a couple of days before/after molting just like you describe. I've always just chalked that up to them being the least hyper of the commonly available dwarf species.

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My scarlet's are as lazy as they get.. They'll sit in the same spot for days on end barely moving, even when they're not molting.

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Yea, I find scarlet hermits to be the most lazy things. Mine would always find a high spot on a rock, like the one in your picture, and lounge there for days on end.

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You guys were all correct. I think it was just molting. He is back to full speed and active as can be.

 

Man I was about ready to pull him out of the tank! Lil guy dodged a bullet.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Glad I am not the only person nearly caught out by this.

 

Sheldon's shell was stuck in a crack, no sign of Sheldon, just what looked like some body parts. I thought he had gotten stuck and ripped himself in half somehow!

I went and got a new one pretty much straight away, add him (Sheldon 2.0) to the tank and he straight away heads to Sheldon's shell (left in there for the shrimp to pick clean and then as a new shell for Sheldon 2.0) he has a peer inside and I see Sheldon peeking out!. So I move Sheldon 2.0 to the other side of the tank and drop in an empty Turbo shell, Sheldon 2.0 moves into this shell and becomes Sheldon 2.1 :-)

A bit later Sheldon becomes active again and they spend the evening playing king of the castle :-)

 

I was surprised by how colourful and opaque the moult was, I have shrimp in my freshwater tank and when they moult it is fairly obviously not the actual shrimp as it is too transparent and pale. The crab moult was very vibrant and solid looking.

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