2 New Hermit Crabs - Dead in 12 hours?

[kimbaco6]

I have no idea why these two new hermit crabs (with red legs) died in less than 12 hours yesterday.

They seemed active at the store, and is a reputable store. I introduced them gradually over 45 minutes to the new water.

Tank cycled 4 weeks
Currently have emerald crab, 1 conch, 3 hermit crabs, all seem happy.
PH - 8.4
Amonia - 0
Nitrates - 0
Nitrites - 0
Temp - 78
Salinity/SG - 33/1.024

Thanks

 

[woodman]

Call the store!

 

[kimbaco6]

Yeah, will do for sure!

 

[kimbaco6]

Called the store. Their numbers all about the same. He said "it happens".

Just nervous because trying to get tank stable to intro fish in next couple of weeks.

Am i missing something?

 

[jdnumis]

sometimes they get stressed out. How are your other livestock? If they are good and healthy, get a couple more hermits

 

[basiab]

Hermits are very hardy and are good for testing your system. It is unlikely they died from stress. So I would asume that you have a problem. Do you have anything alive in the tank?

 

[AlohaTropics]

My guess would be fighting between them or something attacked them.


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[Killarsox]

My guess would be fighting between them or something attacked them.


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I agree, maybe a mix of red leg and blue leg hermits?

 

[TRIGGERMAN]

I can't believe no 1 asked this. Did you ACCLIMATE them?? IF so how did you do it?

 

[kimbaco6]

Yes, I have other things in there living happily for a number of weeks.
4 hermit crabs (dark brown legs, not blue)
1 conch
1 emerald crab
Tank up for 4 weeks

Yesterday I also added 5 snails (the kind that burrow in the sand with the antenna) and those seem fine so far.

I acclimated like this. 15 minutes with bag sitting in top of tank, open and clipped onto the top. Every 5 minutes added a bit of tank water for about 20 minutes. Then added them. I suppose I could have taken longer for that.

When I dropped them in, they both literally came out of their shell, crawled a few steps, and then just sat there. For hours. I could see the movement of their mouth parts decreasing as the hours went by and they never moved again. In the morning, they were both dead outside of their shells, and one shell was stolen by one of the existing hermit crabs. I don't actually believe that he killed the other.

So blue and red legs shouldn't go together?

 

[KathyC]

As you were adding your own water - you should have been pouring off some of the water that was already in the bag. By the time you put them in the tank the water should have been purely that of your own tank.

It appears you either did it too quickly (20 minutes is rather quick..a solid hour would have been better) or there is something wrong in your tank for them to have only gone a few steps and then started dying.

What is your tank temperature?

Is there a chance at some time of you posting a picture of your tank?

 

[Imbarrie]

How reputable is the store? I have acclimated hermits from a store only to have them die. There is one store in Queens that ......

 

[TRIGGERMAN]

I'm sure it was the insufficient acclimation time. Next time float for 45-an hour and then drip for the same amount of time. That's what I have always done and I never had a fish,coral or invert die on me yet, some might think it's overkill but better safe then sorry it is really a "fool proof" method

 

[fish keeper 7]

ive thrown hermits from tank to tank at times that have different salinities and temps and never ever had a problem... they are very very hardy. i dont move hermits around anymore since i only have 1 real DT at this point... but ive never had a hermit die on me... even with small traces of copper my hermits lived through it. Good luck on finding out what happened. thats just my 2 cents.

 

[cthoughts1]

I know people are gonna jump all over this next statement, but hermit crabs don't really need to be acclimated (drip method or otherwise), aside from temperature acclimation (floating the bag with the hermits in the tank for about 20 minutes or so).. Once the temperature acclimation has been done the hermits get tossed in and should do fine. I've done this with everysingle one of the hermits I've purchased and in fact these are the acclimation instructions I've gotten from CUC venders on this site. I've never had a problem and I've never lost a hermit this way.

Anyhow, this may be a long shot, but if I had to guess as to the issue with your hermits, I would say that something you used in the acclimation process was contaminated. Maybe you used a cup which had soap or other cleaning chemicals in it recently, maybe you sprayed an air freshener while you were acclimating, or something along those lines. Its definitely strange for both hermits to die once introduced into your tank while you have others living in your tank without issue - that to me says they were likely exposed to something harmful on the way from your pet shop to your tank. Good luck.

 

[AlohaTropics]

I agree, I've moved hermits and snails from tank to tank with no acclimation at all. Not the smartest but sometimes when doing maintenance I don't have the luxury of time. Hermits are pretty hardly fir the most part. My guess is still the possibility of fighting with another crab over a larger shell or fighting for dominance over space. Another reason could be a mantis shrimp lurking. What did the carcass look like? Where they ripped from their shells or where the shells cracked?


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[kimbaco6]

Thanks for all your thoughts.

Yes, was a reputable place. New World Aquarium on East side, 38th Street.

I think I may have rushed on the acclimation process. Usually the bag is quite large with a lot of water in it, these were very small and I probably used too much tank water each time. I also never heard of taking the water out of the bag, but that does make sense. Will adjust my methods.

But then if they are supposed to be so hardy, maybe there was some contamination. The other guys in the tank seem quite happy, so this is really bumming me out that I don't know what happened....

If it was the acclimation process, better to learn to do it better with a $3 hermit crab than a $80 coral.

The dead hermits looked intact, except one had lost a claw, so I suppose it could have been a fight. And there was one of the other hermits sporting the shell. But since they were barely moving I figured it more likely they just didn't adjust well.

What about the trip home on a hot day? I went from the heat waiting for the bus, then onto the bus with crazy strong AC, then back to my warm apartment where they were then acclimated to the tank. Maybe just too much variation in temp?

Tank temp was a little high, 78, still working on getting that cover off. Have to go get the proper pond netting and then figure out the lighting situation. What if I elevate the lid and add a fan to the setup, keeping the lights? Are these lights even good enough for corals with strong light requirements? Biocube has 36W 10K Daylight (16") and 36W Actinic 03 Blue (16").

Yes I'll do a pic.

 

[basiab]

The key is they left their shells. Hermits do that either to molt, to change shells or because of a problem in the environment. If both did it at the same time they were having a problem. Since other life was not affected it is going to be hard to figure this out. 78 is not too high. My tank is usually around 79-80.

 

[kimbaco6]

Hmmm frustrating....

I think my salinity/ag might be off. Those darn plastic things are so inconsistent for me, and I have 2 of them. Off to get a refractometer today!

 

[Killarsox]

It's also possible that there is nothing wrong with your tank. And these hermits were getting too big for their shells. It's sort of odd that it happened to both at the same time but it is a possibility.