Wild Hermit Crab??

[trickyy21]

My boyfriend recently brought home a hermit crab from naragansett bay, RI. I am aware that anyone's first advice would be to return it to the wild but he is rather intent on keeping it. I have set up a tank for it and it has been doing well for the past two weeks or so. I have experiemnted with different food items such as phytoplankton and bits of frozen squid, sea urchin roe etc. He seems to be responsive to all of them but I am in question as to which it would normally eat in the wild as to supply it with proper nutrition. I am also in question as to what species it is, it looks almost identical to Pagurus berhardus but i hear they are only found in the northeast atlantic. Also it has begun sifting sand over the past few days, i assumed it was trying to obtain calcium so i added calcium to his environment but it is still continuing the behavior. Any advice?

 

[Anonymous]

It is probably trying to get the critter in the sand, not eating the sand to get calcium.

 

[Anonymous]

It is probably trying to get the critter in the sand, not eating the sand to get calcium.

+1. As long as it is eating a variety of food it should be fine. However, you should tell him not to bring any more anything home for the tank unless it comes from your LFS It's a good way to introduce parasites/disease and also you run the risk of an unknown species with unknown habits causing chaos for the rest of your tank.

 

[trickyy21]

thank you both very much!!! i'm not worried about the diseses tho because i didnt put him into my reef tank, i could never risk that haha. i set up a new tank just for the hermit crab. any more advice from anyone would be most appreciated

 

[blackcloudmedia]

It is probably trying to get the critter in the sand, not eating the sand to get calcium.

+1. As long as it is eating a variety of food it should be fine. However, you should tell him not to bring any more anything home for the tank unless it comes from your LFS It's a good way to introduce parasites/disease and also you run the risk of an unknown species with unknown habits causing chaos for the rest of your tank.

Not like the LFS stock is parasite free :lol: Can you get an ID or a pic of the crab. We have several species here on the east coast and Im pretty sure they extend from my beach to yours. It could be the zebra leg hermits that get fist sized or the small ghost hermits. Both are scavengers and eat whatever they want. I havent had any negative side effects from the zebra legs that I *ehem* borrowed from the sea....other than the face that they get huge and topple corals and equipment.
I cant remember the name of the striped one but the ghost is Pagurus berhardus

 

[Anonymous]

I'd worry more about getting in trouble if this was a state beach or some such. That's my California "everything-is-not-to-be-touched' mentality.

 

[blackcloudmedia]

Nah its fine...in Florida at least. Fish and Wildlife commission just states you need a fishing license then theres a daily bag limit....of hermits lol :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Actually the Maidens advice is good.
At least to check with BEFORE touching anything / bringing it home.

Michigan is normally fairly lenient but there are exceptions that can surprise you.
And not in a good way if you happen to have a DNR officer checking you over...

These pretty little stones will cost you plenty.

The short and simple: If you don't know what it is, leave it be.

 

[Anonymous]

Nah its fine...in Florida at least. Fish and Wildlife commission just states you need a fishing license then theres a daily bag limit....of hermits lol :lol:

Seriously? :lol: On Guam, on the base at Santa Rita, there is a zero fishing policy on certain beaches and you can really see the effect it has, from the benthics to the fishes. Amazing populations and the fish are pretty friendly (some of them are TOO friendly, like that barracuda that kept following us, and the Picasso trigger that was harassing me).

 

[blackcloudmedia]

Yea you can google the Florida Fish and game wildlife but to sum it up if you have a fishing license its yours. Theres not too much in the waters here thats endangered. Most of the crap you pick up in the micro habitats will be hermits, fiddler crabs, or whelks. None of which you want to put in your reef. As far as fish go Ive caught anything from anglerfish to triggers to puffers here. All of which get too big and are ugly brown. There is ONE thing I would die to have and thats live cockles and scallops from the area. I cant seem to find them though, the beach at my local fishing spot is litterally yards thick of scallop shells but when I comb the sand I dont get a single one. One interesting note though is here in the cold regions of North Florida I find TONNES of plating coral skeletons attached to scallop shells but the water is piss/poo colored and can in no way support photosynthetic corals....weird huh. Must mean the St Johns USED to be clear.

 

[ZooKeeper1]

I believe they are Pagurus longicarpus

 

[kgross]

Being that it came from Rhode Island, I would be afraid that your tank temps would be to high for it. Other than that it should eat just about anything you put in there. As for the legality of collecting. If you are brave, you should contact your local fish and wildlife or department of natural resources and see what they say.