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Electric Blue Leg Hermit behaviour question


reefpeace

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I have been searching the forums and internet for information on Hermit Crabs but can't find the answer to this. Here is my situation...

 

I placed an "electric blue hermit" in my tank three weeks ago (see avatar), about one week after my cycle was done. It took to the tank very well. It was eating up hair algae like a lawnmower and climbing all over the rocks. All of a sudden, three days ago, it went into a tunnel in the rocks and hardly moves at all. It occasionally comes out to a spot within a few inches of the tunnel, but then wanders back into his cave within an hour or so. Is it depressed :mellow:? It still seems to eat from what I can tell - I can see it scraping at the tunnel walls and it is not burrowed in its shell at all. I was wondering if this was some kind of pre-molting behaviour or if there is possibly something else wrong. I have not fed the hermit as I have no other livestock in the tank other than snails - do I need to? The tank is 6 weeks old now and I have a couple of coral frags - that it. All water params have not changed (0 Ammonia, Nitrite or Nitrate, PH 8.2, SG 1.025). I have not supplemented anything yet. Any ideas :huh:?

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Hermits don't molt, but, they do grow and need new shells. Do you have extra shells in there that are larger than the one he is in now? Trying putting a few new shells in front of his cave. SH

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OK, now I am really confused :huh:. I have been reading on this site about hermit crabs molting so that is why I mentioned it.

eg -

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...&hl=hermit+molt

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...&hl=hermit+molt

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...&hl=hermit+molt

etc.

 

My hermit has a shell nearby but he has never showed any interest - it looks about the same size as the one he has now though. I plan on getting a few more sizes (if they have some) from the LFS today. Either way, I moved it closer to it's cave today.

 

I am now curious to know more about feeding - I always assumed that the tank algae would be enough. Do I need to supplement this - and with what?

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Hermit crabs DO molt as do all crustaceans. Some of mine have exhibited behavior similar to yours. Don't worry about it, if he's hungry he'll move around until he finds food. I would supplement his diet though. Hermits are omnivorous meaning they eat both plant and animal tissue. Get some fresh or frozen shrimp and squid at your local supermarket. Freeze them and then once a week cut off a small piece and put it near your hermit. It will most likely devour it. The high iodine levels inherent in crustacea meat will aid your hermit in the molting process in addition to making it happier.

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Hermit crabs DO molt as do all crustaceans. Some of mine have exhibited behavior similar to yours.

 

Thanks, rics4me. I needed to hear that about the molting. I thought I was losing my mind for a moment. I love the simple advice you gave to get some frozen food - couldn't hurt and it seems more natural than dosing iodine in the water which I have also read about. I will see how things play out.

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my electic blue molted a few times until his/her claws left gouges in my coraline on the rock---- white clawlike streaks following his/her trail! ate so much coraline and knocked over so many corals-- even glued ones--- that my electric blue went back to lfs

 

also after a few molts he/she had the coolest looking purple feathery bristle like things on the back of the bigger legs each molt it looked bigger and cooler and more purple

 

my crabs when they lay dorment for a day or two or three are molting and won't come out until their new skin is hard enough to protect themselves from any preditors. my feeding went down on my tank so now they don't molt as often but still do.... the red hermits sometimes lay dorment for a week while molting!

 

spot feeding crabs----they do fine as scavangers don't need to feed them more? IMO

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Of course hermits molt, what gave you the idea they dont? :huh:

Both moy yellow hairy i used to have and my current small hermit have molted numerous times.

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my scarlet hermits molt as well. they have a similar behavior, just sitting in a cave for the longest time.

 

perhaps when you first got the hermit, he was starving and went crazy. He might be in a food coma state right now ;)

 

My scarlet hermits stay in caves for about 2 days, and then come out and go crazy eating, then go back and sleep. It's strange...

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Well, guess what - mystery solved! I found the remains of my hermit crabs molting this evening. I guess the odd behaviour WAS a result of this. I couldn't resist taking this picture of my guy in his new skin - with his old remains in front of him (strategically placed for the photo). What a cool site (I am new at this - can you tell?)! I can not believe how much the molt looks like the original crab - I thought it would be somewhat translucent.

 

Oh, BTW the original confusion on my part in this this thread came from "steelhealr" who stated that "Hermits don't molt, but, they do grow and need new shells."

 

post-17519-1135736637_thumb.jpg

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i got bout 6 blue leg hermits an 4 red legs the blues ive had since the were in shell bout a quatre of an inch long they really were tiny i got six for a £5 but with lots of shells and algae tomuch their all of a good size now , any way their molts are all in syncro every once in a while they'll all disapear every one then in a few days sumtimes a week they all reappear as if by magic quite cool really

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Nice pic, reefpeace. Hc's are just fascinating little creatures. My Mexican red legged grabs my food pipet with his claws and scarfs up Cyclopeeze, etc. (Mostly I want him policing the LR, but when I feed other critters I have to be sure to feed him too or he really gets in the way!) I kept land hc's long before I got into SW...

 

dreadfish: That's fascinating about the synchronized molts! I'd never heard of this. Are both species in synchrony? Hmmm--maybe, evolutionarily, a few are more likely to evade predators if all molt at once?

 

--Diane

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