SirHelm Posted March 20, 2003 Share Posted March 20, 2003 Hey Guys... I foolishly purchased 2 medium hermit crabs for my 30 gallon reef tank. They are about 3". I currently have a bunch of small red legged and blue legged crabs, snails, 1 blue damsel and 1 royal gramma. I have not put in any corals or anenomes. I am planning on getting some gobies and a clown. Do these large hermits have to go?? Thanks SH Link to comment
Bucket o Chum Posted March 20, 2003 Share Posted March 20, 2003 Yes! The large hermits that you have are probably dardanus. If you're going to keep them you can just kiss those fish good bye! Link to comment
SirHelm Posted March 21, 2003 Author Share Posted March 21, 2003 Sigh... I thought so... Well I can't return then until this weekend.. so I hope the fish can hide out until then. Thanks SH Link to comment
BustytheSnowMaam Posted March 21, 2003 Share Posted March 21, 2003 Wait! What do they look like? I have one in my ten that is huge- in a shell about 7" across, and he does just fine- never harmed anything in my tank. Mine has brown and white stripes, and its Latin name is Clibanarius Vittatus- it is of the same equal-handed genus as the blue-leg crabs. The only disadvantage to mine is that he is so large, he does bump into corals and cause them to close up briefly as he moves around the tank. Otherwise, he's fine, and fun to watch. Tasha Link to comment
SirHelm Posted March 21, 2003 Author Share Posted March 21, 2003 Hey tash, There are 2 of them.. they are both in shells that are about 5-6" in size... they are about 3-4 inches. 1st one is all red and has large black "hairs" on his legs. He seems pretty skittish. 2nd one is green and he is very aggressive. He doesn't have any hairs as far as I can tell. Tonight I had to pull him off a smaller hermit crab as he was trying to pull him out of the smaller shell. I have purchased a smaller 10 gallon tank and will be making this a crab tank. THese guys are going to go in it pretty darn soon. According to Dr. Fosters website these guys are common hermits which are not reef safe. I wish I could post a pic.. but no digital camera. If you have any links I could compare these crabs to it would be much appreciated. Thanks SH Link to comment
Acoustic Posted March 21, 2003 Share Posted March 21, 2003 It is my opinion that the red one is ok. Link to comment
BustytheSnowMaam Posted March 21, 2003 Share Posted March 21, 2003 Hmm...I'm wondering now if maybe they should go back to the store! Check out this link: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/...hermitcrabs.htm Pics aren't the greatest, but should help you identify them and decide. Good luck- Tasha PS- I have a "reef-safe" zebra hermit that I would not recommend for a tank- is very aggressive toward smaller crabs. I think they're also referred to as Hawaiin hermits. Link to comment
Bucket o Chum Posted March 21, 2003 Share Posted March 21, 2003 The hairy one is a species of dardanus. The other one might be petrochirus sp. or parugus sp. all of the above are not safe! I saw one at my LFS's petting zoo disembowel starfish and one plucked an urchin of its spines! Link to comment
SirHelm Posted March 22, 2003 Author Share Posted March 22, 2003 Hey thanks for the link! The red one is Dardanus megistos and the other one is the exact same looking as the common hermit at the dr fosters website. yeah they gotta go..... hopefully tonight... sigh.. BTW i currently am feeding them tetra catfish pellets. They love them and it keeps them occupied for a while and satisfies their appetites so they don't attack my poor fishes!! Thanks for all of your help SH Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.