Missing Halloween hermit

[Skywarp]

I have a beautiful Halloween hermit crab who was hunkering down for the last few days and I thought he must be preparing to moult. I saw a bit of claw poking out from a rock and decided he must have done his business. But his shell hasn't moved for three days since. I can't see him in there and suppose he must have fallen victim to something before his new shell had fully hardened. The only culprit I can think of is my cleaner shrimp. Is this even possible or could there be an unseen menace in my live rock? Baring in mind that he was a two inch monster and all my other hermits are tiny.

[mndfreeze]

Are you SURE he is dead?

[Skywarp]

Wasn't completely sure until yesterday when I saw his shell on the sand upside down completely empty with body parts next to him. So annoyed, in the UK they're hard to come by. What do you think? Cleaner shrimp, some kind of carnivorous worm?

[solefald]

Cleaner shrimp would not eat a hermit, unless it was already dead or dying.

Perhaps he molted and changed a shell? Or molted and hiding until he forms a new?

Are you *sure* those are body parts? Hermit molts look exactly like hermit itself.

[uzi]

Just keep looking he may just stuck under or between rocks.

 

Btw u still lucky than me my babe yellow belly blue tang just disapear for a week now .. no body found .. im still hoping :-/

[Skywarp]

I'll keep holding out hope, but I'm pretty sure he's dead. Being a laterally compressed cone shell hermit he can't change shell too easily. His former shell is totally empty. I've seen him shed many times and I know their casts are perfect copies but what I've seen of the leftovers this time was total dismemberment. I'll leave it a week and see if he miraculously appears.

 

Sorry for your loss Uzi

[EvasiveSnail]

Wow, I know this is old but this has just happened to me. He's been so Healthy and loves the tank. I've see him out of his shell hiding in a crevis many times during a moult..... 3 days now he's not been Back to his shell. I have about 7 spare shells for Him, all various sizes. I've seen his legs floating around, and what looks like other body parts, and I know that's what a moult looks like.... But I think something murdered him. I'd usually blame my pistol Shrimp, but I sadly lost earlier this year. Had him 6 years. Anyway, hoping He's just taking some time to get adjusted! 😊 

[Minireeftank]

On 3/20/2012 at 6:47 PM, Skywarp said:

I have a beautiful Halloween hermit crab who was hunkering down for the last few days and I thought he must be preparing to moult. I saw a bit of claw poking out from a rock and decided he must have done his business. But his shell hasn't moved for three days since. I can't see him in there and suppose he must have fallen victim to something before his new shell had fully hardened. The only culprit I can think of is my cleaner shrimp. Is this even possible or could there be an unseen menace in my live rock? Baring in mind that he was a two inch monster and all my other hermits are tiny.

Hello, just wondering if the Halloween hermit ever reappeared? Pretty much the exact same things going on with mine and I can’t tell if he’s in the shell so deep that I can’t see him or if he’s gone