Blue leg Crabs SOS

[Riffer58]

Hello Team!

I recently got a group of 5 very small blue leg hermit crabs, along with a small piece of live rock. Everything got in the tank smoothly and my crabs went right to eating and made themselves at home. Until yesterday I saw one of the bigger two crabs bullying on the others, he seems like trying to either eat or evict the others from their shells. My LFS guy told me it wasn't going to be until around 2 weeks that I might add bigger homes for them to seize. So I'm wondering if perhaps they are going into cannibal mode?

Can someone please help me out, I'm going to try and buy some dry seaweed to feed them. I really don't want to lose any of them.

Any help/feedback/comments are highly appreciated.

 

[Cristy17]

I would add a few assorted sized shells. Never hurts to give them the option to change shells.Also, how long has your tank been set up? I throw a few pieces of algae wafers broken up for my hermits in a tank that hardly has food for them and they eat it right up.

 

[K7BMG]

I am just wondering how the LFS guy knows such a thing?
Maybe he talks Crab.
I think you would do well to get larger shells soon as you can.
Keep up the feeding so they do not have to compete for food.
But from everything I understand about Hermits even if they have all that they desire they will still rage on others. Its just the way it is.

 

[Riffer58]

I would add a few assorted sized shells. Never hurts to give them the option to change shells.Also, how long has your tank been set up? I throw a few pieces of algae wafers broken up for my hermits in a tank that hardly has food for them and they eat it right up.

Tanks been set up 2 months ago now! thanks for the input

 

[Riffer58]

I am just wondering how the LFS guy knows such a thing?
Maybe he talks Crab.
I think you would do well to get larger shells soon as you can.
Keep up the feeding so they do not have to compete for food.
But from everything I understand about Hermits even if they have all that they desire they will still rage on others. Its just the way it is.

Of course, don't you speak crab? It is a thing now! LOL

 

[Miller535]

Adding larger shells helps some, but to just be blunt, Hermit crab's (especially blue legged) are just jerks, and there's little you can do to change it. It's their nature. Sometimes they want/need a bigger shell. I had one before that was in a shell 10 times too large for it and it could barely drag the darn thing. Other times they are like a small child and what someone else has because it must be better. They are just violent jerks.

 

[Riffer58]

Adding larger shells helps some, but to just be blunt, Hermit crab's (especially blue legged) are just jerks, and there's little you can do to change it. It's their nature. Sometimes they want/need a bigger shell. I had one before that was in a shell 10 times too large for it and it could barely drag the darn thing. Other times they are like a small child and what someone else has because it must be better. They are just violent jerks.

I was real close to that conclusion!

 

[tuesdayd]

Yeah, they'll walk by a dozen perfectly good shells to attack another crab and steal its shell.

 

[AndyinAtlanta]

They fight, mine fight all the time. I sometimes drop in a few pellets for them and they rush to eat them. From my experience they tend to be less violent towards each other when food is plentiful. Just be careful not to add too much and create an in-balance in the tank.

 

[JoshO]

I'm glad this has appeared before I got blue over red legged crabs!

 

[Katrina71]

Rule of thumb for me is 3 empty shells per crab. Land crabs are the same.

 

[Miller535]

I'm glad this has appeared before I got blue over red legged crabs!

Red still exhibit some of the same behaviour, but aren't nearly as bad, imo

 

[Riffer58]

I have been monitoring them very closely. They definitely eating the frozen misis. Still they kind of bully on eachother. Even the smaller one goes after the big ones. but I dont see them really messing eachother up (so far).

Im getting some shells for them today will keep you guys posted. And thank you all for the support! Be safe guys