Molting Hermits.

[qsails]

Has anyone ever heard of Red leg Hermits Molting?

over the past two weeks I have found three bodies floating in my tank. I only had 5 and I can still count 5????

Is this what is Happening.

[LiQuiD]

You got it. All crustacions molt. They gotta grow:)

[bautin2]

I was gonna ask the exact same question...

 

Do the "molted" shells need to be removed from the tank? Do they pose any bioload problems?

[HuBu]

i was told to leave them in the tank bc they provided some calc or something. in a nano, i would take it out just to be safe. if you have big tank with a skimmer, the skimmer would handle it.

[LiQuiD]

Any decomposable waste in a tank adds to the bioload. Plus, it doesn't look that pretty sitting in the tank (only a portion of the exoskeleton will decompose, the rest will stay around and be an eyesore). Most shrimp will eat their shells (they are soft) as mine are eaten from the tanks before I get a chance to remove them. I let my decorator crab eat the red outside of his shell after he molts (kind of a skin around the shell, I believe it is a good source of protein for it) and then remove the remaining white skeletal matter. Hermit molting is not soft nor consumed (at least not by the fish kept in most nanos) and should just be removed when you get a chance, it does not create a huge bioload and will most likely cause no stress to the tank. Again, it is just ugly, it looks like a dead crab laying around in your tank.

[chufa]

If you have bumblebee snails, they will consume hermit molts!