Hermit crab shell info?

[anniebanana267]

Hey guys, I have a few questions about hermit crabs. Please don’t judge me, I just need information please.

I have 4 hermit crabs, I’ve had them for around 2-3 weeks and I love them so much. I’ve been reading information about them and I’ve come across some pages that say they need to molt into new shells, and that the tank keeper needs to buy shells and put them inside the tank. Can somebody give me some more information on this? If I do need to buy some shells, can anyone tell me a good place to buy them, and how many I should buy for 4 hermit crabs? 2 of them are pretty large, and 2 of them are much smaller. 

Thanks in advance. 

[Menidia]

Are they land crabs or reef hermits?

 

For reef hermits you could probably ask the lfs for the shells of snails that die in their tanks. Some will even have a pile of them somewhere. Just ask to grab a handful of you can. 

 

Land hermits are somewhat picky, they like shells with round openings typically like turbos. Get some that are slightly larger (focus on opening size), some around the same size, and some slightly smaller. Have ~3 per, one of each gradient. 

 

I ordered my land crab shells online from Amazon, there are a number of buffed and carved available. Just avoid lacquered and painted. 

 

Also so craft sores usually have net bags of seashells. Look for the green turbo shells. 

[anniebanana267]

11 minutes ago, Menidia said:

Are they land crabs or reef hermits?

 

For reef hermits you could probably ask the lfs for the shells of snails that die in their tanks. Some will even have a pile of them somewhere. Just ask to grab a handful of you can. 

 

Land hermits are somewhat picky, they like shells with round openings typically like turbos. Get some that are slightly larger (focus on opening size), some around the same size, and some slightly smaller. Have ~3 per, one of each gradient. 

 

I ordered my land crab shells online from Amazon, there are a number of buffed and carved available. Just avoid lacquered and painted. 

I have 3 blue legged hermits and a green stripe hermie  I’ll definitely take a trip to my lfs as soon as I can. Thank you!

 

edit: would it be okay if i would just go to my local beach and pick up some shells? are those safe if I clean them out inside? again, sorry if it’s a dumb question

[A Little Blue]

Your local fish store should help you out with some empty shells. Hermits grow and will need larger condo to live in. To achieve that, they might (and probably will) go after your snails with larger real estate/shell. Keeping few empty shells in the tank for that reason is advised. Without appropriate home or algae to graze on, they might go getho and become PITA. 

(Missed your last post. Blue lagged crabs are relatively peaceful citizens) 

[anniebanana267]

2 minutes ago, A Little Blue said:

Your local fish store should help you out with some empty shells. Hermits grow and will need larger condo to live in. To achieve that, they might (and probably will) go after your snails with larger real estate/shell. Keeping few empty shells in the tank for that reason is advised. Without appropriate home or algae to graze on, they might go getho and become PITA. 

(Missed your last post. Blue lagged crabs are relatively peaceful citizens) 

Thank you! I would hate for them to attack their tank-mates  

(question- what do getho and PITA mean?)

[A Little Blue]

3 minutes ago, anniebanana267 said:

Thank you! I would hate for them to attack their tank-mates  

(question- what do getho and PITA mean?)

Pain In The A## and ghetto not getho (basically going gangster on your CUC crew/snails) 

[1891Bro]

13 minutes ago, A Little Blue said:

Pain In The A## and ghetto not getho (basically going gangster on your CUC crew/snails) 

Wow, that’s pretty racist. 

[anniebanana267]

43 minutes ago, A Little Blue said:

Pain In The A## and ghetto not getho (basically going gangster on your CUC crew/snails) 

Oh wow okay. I’ll definitely buy some macroalgae and shells. Thanks again !

[A Little Blue]

30 minutes ago, 1891Bro said:

Wow, that’s pretty racist. 

Wow, that never crossed my mind. But I see that you are quite preoccupied with victimhood games. Lol 

[A Little Blue]

2 hours ago, anniebanana267 said:

Oh wow okay. I’ll definitely buy some macroalgae and shells. Thanks again !

Not necessary to buy macro algae. They graze on algae growing on your rocks. If there is no algae growing on your rocks, you might have to feed them with premade food. Algae pallets or dry seaweed. Both available in your local fish store. They are scavenger and will eat just about anything as long as there is a food source, they should be fine. 

[Clown79]

I love my hermits.

 

They seem to prefer shells shaped like cerith or nassarius shells. I'm sure you can buy them if your store won't give you empties.

 

I soak the shells in water/vinegar before adding them to the tank.

[Oldsalt01]

My Blue-legs seem to prefer Cerith shells. At least that's what they've moved into when they outgrew their current shells. My Scarlet's seem to prefer small whelk shells. Be careful if going to the craft store for shells. Some of the shells have some pretty noxious coatings on them, especially from China, and could wipe out the tank. I'd stick with your LFS or go to reefcleaners.org. They sell extra hermit shells, and John will answer any questions you may have. 

[anniebanana267]

14 hours ago, A Little Blue said:

Not necessary to buy macro algae. They graze on algae growing on your rocks. If there is no algae growing on your rocks, you might have to feed them with premade food. Algae pallets or dry seaweed. Both available in your local fish store. They are scavenger and will eat just about anything as long as there is a food source, they should be fine. 

Ok, great! Thank you so much again!

 

2 hours ago, Clown79 said:

I love my hermits.

 

They seem to prefer shells shaped like cerith or nassarius shells. I'm sure you can buy them if your store won't give you empties.

 

I soak the shells in water/vinegar before adding them to the tank.

I love my hermits too, they’re so cute and interesting to watch  I’ll look into those and that’s a good idea! Thanks!

2 hours ago, Oldsalt01 said:

My Blue-legs seem to prefer Cerith shells. At least that's what they've moved into when they outgrew their current shells. My Scarlet's seem to prefer small whelk shells. Be careful if going to the craft store for shells. Some of the shells have some pretty noxious coatings on them, especially from China, and could wipe out the tank. I'd stick with your LFS or go to reefcleaners.org. They sell extra hermit shells, and John will answer any questions you may have. 

Thank you so much! That’s what I had thought, originally. The paint might be dangerous. 

 

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

 

I had asked earlier: it’s not that I’m being cheap or anything, I’m 100% willing to buy the shells but is it dangerous or unsanitary or something to go to the beach and get shells, wash them out of course? I just think that way they might be more special ❤️

[Clown79]

28 minutes ago, anniebanana267 said:

Ok, great! Thank you so much again!

 

I love my hermits too, they’re so cute and interesting to watch  I’ll look into those and that’s a good idea! Thanks!

Thank you so much! That’s what I had thought, originally. The paint might be dangerous. 

 

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

 

I had asked earlier: it’s not that I’m being cheap or anything, I’m 100% willing to buy the shells but is it dangerous or unsanitary or something to go to the beach and get shells, wash them out of course? I just think that way they might be more special ❤️

No. You can go to the beach and pick empty shells.

 

Just wash them very well.

[Nocturnal]

Reefkeepers sells mixed bags of empty shells as well.

[Sunstar]

18 hours ago, anniebanana267 said:

Hey guys, I have a few questions about hermit crabs. Please don’t judge me, I just need information please.

I have 4 hermit crabs, I’ve had them for around 2-3 weeks and I love them so much. I’ve been reading information about them and I’ve come across some pages that say they need to molt into new shells, and that the tank keeper needs to buy shells and put them inside the tank. Can somebody give me some more information on this? If I do need to buy some shells, can anyone tell me a good place to buy them, and how many I should buy for 4 hermit crabs? 2 of them are pretty large, and 2 of them are much smaller. 

Thanks in advance. 

I just go to the dollar store and buy a bag of shells and pick out the ones I think they'll like. I have dozens of shells since I seem to do this habitually (that and marbles these days)

[A Little Blue]

1 hour ago, anniebanana267 said:

it’s not that I’m being cheap or anything, I’m 100% willing to buy the shells but is it dangerous or unsanitary or something to go to the beach and get shells, wash them out of course? I just think that way they might be more special

Perfectly fine. Like someone said, wash/soak them overnight in water with some white vinegar (10:1 ratio). Make sure to rinse them after in clean RODI water. Doesn't mean you’re cheap, just practical. Have fun. 

[VictoryBell]

I was clueless on where to get shells and I read online about people buying them at craft stores like Michaels. (It never dawned on me hehe) This is where I got my shells. Just make sure they aren’t varnished and give them a good rinse before you put them in. 

[mndfreeze]

9 hours ago, Nocturnal said:

Reefkeepers sells mixed bags of empty shells as well.

reefkeepers.com doesn't have a store front that I can find.  Am I looking at the wrong reef keepers?

[A Little Blue]

Reef Cleaners ring the bell. I’m not familiar with Reefkeepers. 

[Nocturnal]

8 hours ago, A Little Blue said:

Reef Cleaners ring the bell. I’m not familiar with Reefkeepers. 

Doh. Yes, reef cleaners. Sorry mnd. Great place to buy clean up crews etc.

[mndfreeze]

Lol werd.  I was super confused for a bit there clicking everywhere and digging through the damn site html wondering what sneaky store link was buried where.

 

reef cleaners is a great place!  I only wish they had a cheaper slower shipping option when you order dry good stuff.  I was going to order hermit shells and barnacle clusters but the shipping was more than the items themselves lol.