CRAB RIPPED INTO PIECES

[STRINGCHEESE]

This morning I found my scarlet hermit crab in pieces all over my tank. What would do such a thing??

[icenine]

Are you sure it wasn't just a molt?

[STRINGCHEESE]

Are you sure it wasn't just a molt?

 

Yeah, the legs were still bright red and I thought I saw the abdomen. Do hermit crabs molt?

[Kirin1]

All crustaceans molt. A whole molt will look like a whole crab, color and all. It's only when you get close up that you can see that it's empty. It's common for the molt to get eaten, lots of vitamins in the old shell (hence the torn up bits).

[Nani]

Yeah, the legs were still bright red and I thought I saw the abdomen. Do hermit crabs molt?

 

Oh no worries, they molt all the time. I have like 8 crabs and I always see the remnants of their old skin all the time. After they molt they usually are inactive for a little bit while their new exoskeleton hardens.

[icenine]

All animals with an exoskeleton have to molt in order to grow. Bright red just means "fresh" molt most likely.

[STRINGCHEESE]

I hope you guys are right. I got him as a hitchhiker on my green star polyps. I'll look for him a little harder (no pun intended) tonight.

 

THANKS ALL!

[HammyDavisJr]

I hope you guys are right. I got him as a hitchhiker on my green star polyps. I'll look for him a little harder (no pun intended) tonight.

 

THANKS ALL!

 

 

It's probably a molt.

 

About a week after I got my crabs, I saw a dead one and fished him out. I saw his shell sitting there, so I decided to take a peek at the shell. I started to pull it out of the water and the crab popped out like "WTF! WHY U BUG ME?..GTFO!"

 

The molt looked exactly like a dead crab. Fleshy, colored up, etc.

[sophie]

I hope you guys are right. I got him as a hitchhiker on my green star polyps. I'll look for him a little harder (no pun intended) tonight.

 

THANKS ALL!

 

 

Did you find your crab? If not, was the shell shattered? If it was then you might have a mantis shrimp or a pistol...do you have or did you recently purchase any LR?

Have you heard any clicking noises coming from the inside of your tank?

[avalanche1201]

hmm..Everyone always says a molt will look like the animal that molted..but when my shrimp motled it never has any color in it...just looks like snake skin or something, colorless..is this normal?

[adinsxq]

Oh no worries, they molt all the time.

Oh no worries, just alienz

[RBuddha]

molting = sign of good water conditions.

[Scott Riemer]

hmm..Everyone always says a molt will look like the animal that molted..but when my shrimp motled it never has any color in it...just looks like snake skin or something, colorless..is this normal?

Normal. Shrimp molt is more transparent than crab, IME.

[Esper]

it's very interesting to see what they do with their molts, as well.

 

my porcelan crab is very secretive, but when he molted, he placed the molt out in the open, sitting exactly the way he does, with the plankton-catchers waving in the current and everything. it was a decoy!!! meanwhile, he hid behind is usual rock right next to it.

 

my friend has reported similar behavior with his cleaner shrimp....it always puts its molts in conspicuous places and then hides nearby, as if to spy on potential enemies. most of my shrimp molts just get stuck to the nearest powerhead intake.

[WilD]

1. Hermit crab molt usually looks exactly like the crab minus any abdomen.

2. They are extremely vulnerable after a molt and may be killed durring this period as they release an odor that can attract predators. Two notable things that could kill your crab during this time are other crabs and Nassarius snails (just saw this one last night)