Hermit just hanging out upside down

[Vyker]

I have had this hermit in the tank for over a week. For the first 5-6 days he moved around and munched on sand and all that jazz that hermits do. About 3 days ago though, he started hanging out on his back. I was pretty sure he could flip himself over if he wanted to, but I went ahead and helped him out by setting him right. He immediately flipped himself over again and is still hanging out on his back. He is definitely alive, still moving his legs and occasionally picking up sand while staying on his back. Is this one of those quirky hermit crab things, or is this guy on his deathbed or something?

 

Water parameters are fine, my emerald, team of snails, and two fish are cruising right along healthy as can be. its a 10g with 48w of T5. Tank has been around since the beginning of the month.

Edited November 2, 2010 by Vyker

[1fishmonger]

Fish could be knocking it over - I usually flip snails and crabs over if I see them upside down.

[Vyker]

Oh no, his being on his back is entirely his choice. When I set him right, I saw him just roll back onto his back. Are you suggesting I should keep trying to right him though? Maybe he is just disoriented... for three days...

[1fishmonger]

Oh no, his being on his back is entirely his choice. When I set him right, I saw him just roll back onto his back. Are you suggesting I should keep trying to right him though? Maybe he is just disoriented... for three days...

 

 

lol. To be honest - I don't pay much attention to my hermits but I've never seen one on it's back just hanging out. They always try to right themselves If it's his choice then let him be lol

[Bill Nye]

lol. To be honest - I don't pay much attention to my hermits but I've never seen one on it's back just hanging out. They always try to right themselves If it's his choice then let him be lol

 

+1

 

The only time I notice my hermit is when hes doing something that pisses me off.

[Vyker]

Well, a couple snails were fighting over his corpse today... I took him out and he was completely unresponsive. Now my other scarlet, who had spent some time with him, is showing the same signs... Is there some sort of hermit crab disease or something, or am I just unlucky with red legged hermits? My blue legged hermits seem to be doing fine, but I am watching them closely.

[Vyker]

Ok, its like crab apocolypse. My emerald shows up dead today after eating and being active in the tank for three weeks. About 4 days ago the crab went mia, found it dead this morning...

[Blueangel44]

+1

 

The only time I notice my hermit is when hes doing something that pisses me off.

Same with me!

[splinter492]

test for copper. i know alot of inverts are sensitive of copper and if you have ever used copper meds in that tank it will leach out of the silicone or LR and kill your inverts.

[Vyker]

I think it might have been some sort of disease or something. My other scarlet from the same lfs has passed with the same symptoms. I still have all the blue legs being active and moving, but they are sticking to the rock instead of the sand. Idk any more. Since all my snails are still rocking after weeks, and all my blue legs are doing ok, I don't think it is copper. I haven't tested for it though. I am really reluctant to buy from my lfs since the three losses now (2 reds and emerald).

 

I may get on reefscavengers since they have almost all the crabs I want, but they have bad reviews on this site. I sure wish john at reefcleaners had a larger variety of crabs for sale...

[Vyker]

This is getting sad. I had 3 blue legs, and as long as they are on the rock they live. As soon as they start cleaning sand they die a few days later. Whenever I see my nassarius snails all wrestling over something, I assume it has died. I am down to one big blue leg as best as I can tell. He started on the sand for the first time yesterday, watching him closely. This is a big problem for me, detrius is getting out of control since my CUC keeps dying... The detrius decomposition is probably fueling a hair algae problem I am combating... I really want to put in like 10 hermits, but if they are just going to die, I can't.

 

On the plus side, I thought my emerald had died but she just molted. Found her the other day while I was cleaning hair algae. Made my day to see her still alive. She hasn't come out though, I guess she is still waiting for her new shell to harden.

 

This does further complicate things however. If all my snails, fish, rock-occupying hermits, and emerald crab live, what the hell is killing my hermits? Should I look into removing the sand?

[gulfsurfer101]

I took mine out and after seeing the detrius my tank will produce from a single fish in a 30g tank I can't beleive I used to keep anything alive. Now I just siphon out all the gunk that accumulates with every water change. The only sand I have in my tank is about a pound or two in the rear fuge section of my tank.

[Vyker]

So, found my emerald crab today If she molted again, idk, but i found her in pieces today. I doubt she would molt twice in a 2 week period...

 

So, she is in PIECES. Like, arm over here, leg still on the rock and so on. This crab apocalypse is really really unpleasant. My LFS said I might have bristle worms killing all my crabs. I don't know. I still have a ton of snails and I haven't seen any worm like thing, but maybe?

 

What could have done this?

 

Now, my algae is getting out of control because I can't put any crabs in my tank. If anyone can help, please do. I might just post this on a more visited forum for reinforcements.

[tako]

So, found my emerald crab today If she molted again, idk, but i found her in pieces today. I doubt she would molt twice in a 2 week period...

Are you saying you know she's dead, or could it have just been a shell? Did you remove the old molt the last time it molted? If not, something may have pulled it out of the rock work and started eating it. I know I usually find pieces of molts all over the tank if I don't remove them before someone starts snacking on them.

[reef-luva]

Stop throwing bud in ur tank...

[Vyker]

Lolz, you would think bud would cause issues for the fish or snails. The fish would at least not be swimming straight any more.

 

Are you saying you know she's dead, or could it have just been a shell? Did you remove the old molt the last time it molted? If not, something may have pulled it out of the rock work and started eating it. I know I usually find pieces of molts all over the tank if I don't remove them before someone starts snacking on them.

 

I am saying I am 85% sure she is dead. I removed the last molt so the chances that she molted again and is hiding are remote. The one claw I found on the sand seemed to be the whole thing.

[Coastie]

My emerald crab decided to hang out upside down!

 

 

Sorry about your losses :/

[Vyker]

Thanks, only the emerald lasted long enough for me to get attached. I have one final blue leg looking rough that I really really like, I hope he makes it. I started vacuuming my sand bed today and I put in a seagel bag. I will finish vacuuming tomorrow and if the blue leg doesn't make it, I may test with a single crab in a couple weeks. Hopefully whatever is getting them will die out. I am just hoping my algae doesn't get too out of control. All my corals and fishes and snails are doing well so thats a positive.

 

I just really wish I could figure out what is getting them so that I can correct it and get back to a stable ecosystem.

 

Amazing pic btw coastie.

[reef-luva]

sorry dude...

[gulfsurfer101]

Get a gravel vac and siphon out 10% of your water and do a wc, you most likely have some kind of spike building up that your inverts are feeling. Salinity levels would get out of wac due to evap and my snails would hit the top of tank to get out of the water, thats when I knew things were going bad. You to have biuld some kind of routine or regimine to keep your tank in balance or you will be posting alot of these topics.

Edited November 3, 2010 by gulfsurfer101

[Coastie]

You also may want to do some creeping at night.... Sneak up on your tank (I've heard that worms can feel you walk up to the tank) and hit it with a flashlight with a colored shade like red or blue and see if something is snacking.

[gulfsurfer101]

If it is a predator I would opt for a red bulb and just kind of stalk your tank overnight when your free. Red is undetectable and they can feel you creeping up on them so you will have to be covert.

[Vyker]

You also may want to do some creeping at night.... Sneak up on your tank (I've heard that worms can feel you walk up to the tank) and hit it with a flashlight with a colored shade like red or blue and see if something is snacking.

 

Holy crap, I just did this. There was definitely a worm and it was pretty long. What are the chances that they are predators and how do I get rid of them if so? I was considering adding a 6-line wrasse. Would he remove all the bristleworms and enable me to keep crabs? Since I haven't been losing snails, will I in the future without crabs to snack on? My LFS told me that if they eat crabs, they will eat snails and fish too. This is like worst case scenario to me.

Edited November 3, 2010 by Vyker

[tako]

You also may want to do some creeping at night.... Sneak up on your tank (I've heard that worms can feel you walk up to the tank) and hit it with a flashlight with a colored shade like red or blue and see if something is snacking.

 

Depending on the type of floor, certain things in the tank can definitely feel you walking. If I don't step and sit down lightly at my desk my duncans will retract.

 

I'd figure if it was preying on hermits it would also go after the snails, but it's worth a shot at this point.

[Coastie]

How long would you say it was? do a search you may be able to trap it with a hoime made trap.