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Dre

JUNIOR MEMBER
Location
NY/NJ
Rating - 100%
243   0   0
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!
This may cause a stir, talk the ''plastic things'' to the LFS and see what it measure. You're tank should be 1.023 -/+3 not a big deal.Reguarding the hermit crabs don't buy any more unless you like throwing away money.$3 a pop wow!
People swear by them but they don't live very long if they can not find a bigger shell to fit in when they out grow the old ones.They seldom do and fight and kill other hermits to get one.
 

kimbaco6

Experienced Reefer
Location
manhattan
Rating - 100%
6   0   0
Ok, I think I solved the puzzle.

Was so strange that I lost those 2 new hermits the first day, with all my numbers spot on.

Today one of the existing hermits has a baby snail in his claws, while lying on his back, and is surely killing him. Darn.

The strange thing is that the shell is way too small for the crab, so he must be doing this for food. Also strange because he has plenty of algae to eat and is getting added food.

Shall I get rid of these buggers? Are they becoming destructive?
 

Dre

JUNIOR MEMBER
Location
NY/NJ
Rating - 100%
243   0   0
[PDF OVERLAY][/PDF OVERLAY]they don't live very long if they can not find a bigger shell to fit in when they out grow the old ones.They seldom do and fight and kill other hermits to get one.[PDF OVERLAY][/PDF OVERLAY]
Enough said...
 

seldin

Advanced Reefer
Location
New York
Rating - 100%
94   0   0
I would take a water sample to the LFS to check your parms.

Also, crabs need to acclimate a while, in your tank. I like to have crabs have water dripped over a several hours.

FYI, could also be a fish that picked on them. I know my blenny likes snails...
 

seldin

Advanced Reefer
Location
New York
Rating - 100%
94   0   0
A while back, I had a larger and smaller emerald crab. Very sorry, I bought a larger one. He beat up my smaller one and killed him. Emerald crabs can do excellent cleanup, but they are strong. So watch for him. Not saying he did it, but just be careful.

Yet, I love emerald crabs. They can pick a rock clean of detris very quickly. Problem, is they can then starve.
 

kimbaco6

Experienced Reefer
Location
manhattan
Rating - 100%
6   0   0
Won't the emerald eat the copepods and brine shrimp etc that are left over? I guess he's an herbivore so I should add some algae sheets if it gets too clean? I was worried about that because the algae is limited.
 

seldin

Advanced Reefer
Location
New York
Rating - 100%
94   0   0
A friend of mine and myself, both had the experience, that for our tanks, the emerald crab is excellent for cleanup, but seem to only last a year, before it goes to heaven. They really like live rock and are great at cleaning tank, but for me, they don't last. And yes, mine also picked on my smaller crab.

One thing, these guys are very strong and used to move around my frags and made them fall off my rock. I ended up, placing a small amount of glue on plugs to help with that.

I have that same problem now that I increased my hermit crab population.
 

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