scarlet hermits

[SeaFish]

in a 12 gallon tank, how many scarlet hermits should i have to keep my tank clean?

[chufa]

Avoid scarlet hermits. Any other hermit (blue legs, mexican red legs, zebras) can do the cleaning job of a dozen scarlets. I have one; he's mostly for decorative purposes. Stays in the same spot all day. Ocassionally (at night mostly) he's active, but very sloth-like activity.

[spoondigity]

My scarlet stays very active. I purchased him based mainly on a decorative addition but he actually cruises all over and constantly eats just like my blue legs. Maybe you can watch several at your lfs and see if one in particular is more active to make sure you don't get a lazy bum.

[BustytheSnowMaam]

Go with blue-legs or red-legs, maybe one for every 1 1/2 to 2 gallons. You could also add a scarlet if you want something colorful.

Tasha

[chrisblore]

I would say go with a mixture of red legs and blue legs (maybe up to about 10) for a tank of this size. However, I would also recommend that you keep at least 6 turbo snails in order to keep algae from fermenting on the glass.

Chris

[printerdown01]

I've heard that scarlets are the safest of the hermits (I can attest to the idea that zebras are the fastest growers and the most vicious killers). I have also heard that scarlets do a great job of keeping algae out of the sand. Which is kind of a big deal. Blue leggs aren't really known for eating algae. A lot of aquariest see crabs picking at algae and think they are eating it, when often times they are actually eating ditritus and food morcles that are stuck to the algae. Don't get me wrong they WILL eat algae, it's just that they aren't exactly know for being great at it... They are primarily used for picking up left-over food (which will fuel the algae growth). I think you would be fine with 4-5 scarlets in your 12 gallon.

[SeaFish]

i heard that the blue leg and the red leg hermits eats corals at one time or another. i also heard that scarlet hermits are th safest to keep in a tank since they are the least aggressive. About the turbo snails, they grow way too fast for a 12 gallon tank. Is there any other suggestions to other kind of snails or algae eaters for the tank walls?

[chrisblore]

I have never had any trouble with either red legs or Turbo snails but if you do not wish to keep either, then you should be fine with the scarlets as printerdown01 suggested and, as far as snails are concerned, I think you could try Trocus or any other snails that you have available. (I'm sorry I can't advise you further but I live in the UK and am unsure as to what is available in the US)

Thanks

Chris

[SeaFish]

Oh wow, that is real far away from where i live in california. Thank you Chris. I am just confused with everything everyone is saying. some are conflicting. i dont mean to say what you suggested is not good. I was just sharing what i heard with the board too =). thank you for all of your help. How is UK anyway? i had a friend who came back from a EAP program from the university i am attending. She had told me it was a lot of fun. I like to go visit one day, but prob wont till i graduate. But yeah, thanks =).

[chufa]

ppl may have "heard" blue and red legs are aggressive and may eat corals, but in my experience I have observed neither. Adding a scarlet is not bad; however, it may not help much with algae control. If you are unsure about other hermits, and want to add scarlets, then I would consider some snails like turbos or astreas.

[chodaboy]

My zebra crab chips away my live rock. I'm flushing the psycho pathic crustation.

[printerdown01]

LOL, I yanked both of my problem childred (zebras) and replaced them with 4 nass snails and 2 bumblebees -which are working out really well! I am however, considering adding a scarlet (simply so I have one more critter to look at). Do these guys spend most of their time in the sand or the rocks? From what I have seen the prefer the sand, just wanted to see what you guys have noticed with yours... BTW I love astrea snails. They are a great all around algae eater. But, I would always suggest a diverse snail collection, so pick up as many algae eating snails as you can (nass and bumblebess will NOT eat algae, so don't buy them with that expectation ).

[SeaFish]

my scarlet hermits are always on my live rocks eating something that i dont even now what =). my is rarely on teh sand. infact i havent seen my on the sand eating or doing anything for the past month or so. hope this helps =)

[spoondigity]

My scarlet spends time all over the rocks and sand. I don't think he is on one more than the other. When I first got him he sat in the spot on the sand where I had originally placed him for around 2 or 3 days. I figured he would move when he felt like it. Now he stays on the move constantly. Kind of like a zamboni. About the only time he stops for a long period is to cram himself into a crevice while he molts over a few days.

[chodaboy]

my scarlet crab spends most of his time cooking and grilling on the barbeque outside, sometime he sits on the coach to watch monday night football with me.