Dwarf blue leg/Scarlet Hermit crab questions

[ZipAdeeZoa]

Hello everyone!

I'm fairly new both here and to saltwater but I'm a month into following the 4 month BRS/WWC hybrid system for a softy/lps 13.5 gallon Fluval Evo. I've had a single dwarf blue leg hermit crab in the tank for 15 days no and I'm really enjoying "Hermes" and his antics.

One thing I've noticed him doing is climbing the silicone in each corner of the tank to the top where he finds the lid and inevitably falls back to the bottom (unless he goes up the corner beside the overflow weir, he sits there for an hour to before jumping off) and although he is not doing it nearly as much as when I first got him I still occasionally catch him the act. My concern is two fold, I was planning on removing the lid the tank came with and running it without so I can measure the difference in evaporation for when I get the screen cover I'm looking at. My main concern is that Hermes will attempt to deliver his messages to the gods outside the tank... If I remove the canopy, is my crab a flight risk?

Second concern is that when he falls he almost always lands upside down and I haven't seen him right himself so I've been flipping him over when I find him like that. I think his shell is a little to big (he has plenty of options but he keeps going back to his original) so I was wondering if he's stuck long enough will he just leave the shell and flip it from the outside or will he refuse to leave and die of starvation? I'm pretty sure its option A but just wanted to double check.

Lastly because I'm enjoying him so much I was thinking of picking up a second hermit. I know they'll turn on each other if they're hungry enough but if I keep them both fed do you think there would be an issue? I was planning on getting a scarlet mainly so that I could tell them apart but also because my girlfriend really likes red. If the blue leg would get along better with another blue leg I could just as easily do that. It will probably be at least 2 weeks or so before I add the second crab but figured I'd ask.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Gareth elliott]

Hermits can right themselves no worries on that end. I have never had a hermit escape a tank, but have had snails and fish jump. Why i dont run without a lid.

Scarlets and blue legs ignore each other for the most part. Exceptions,
-I want your shell
-i want the food you have
-i thought i wanted your shell, now i have it, not so much.

 

[glb]

Hello everyone!

I'm fairly new both here and to saltwater but I'm a month into following the 4 month BRS/WWC hybrid system for a softy/lps 13.5 gallon Fluval Evo. I've had a single dwarf blue leg hermit crab in the tank for 15 days no and I'm really enjoying "Hermes" and his antics.

One thing I've noticed him doing is climbing the silicone in each corner of the tank to the top where he finds the lid and inevitably falls back to the bottom (unless he goes up the corner beside the overflow weir, he sits there for an hour to before jumping off) and although he is not doing it nearly as much as when I first got him I still occasionally catch him the act. My concern is two fold, I was planning on removing the lid the tank came with and running it without so I can measure the difference in evaporation for when I get the screen cover I'm looking at. My main concern is that Hermes will attempt to deliver his messages to the gods outside the tank... If I remove the canopy, is my crab a flight risk?

Second concern is that when he falls he almost always lands upside down and I haven't seen him right himself so I've been flipping him over when I find him like that. I think his shell is a little to big (he has plenty of options but he keeps going back to his original) so I was wondering if he's stuck long enough will he just leave the shell and flip it from the outside or will he refuse to leave and die of starvation? I'm pretty sure its option A but just wanted to double check.

Lastly because I'm enjoying him so much I was thinking of picking up a second hermit. I know they'll turn on each other if they're hungry enough but if I keep them both fed do you think there would be an issue? I was planning on getting a scarlet mainly so that I could tell them apart but also because my girlfriend really likes red. If the blue leg would get along better with another blue leg I could just as easily do that. It will probably be at least 2 weeks or so before I add the second crab but figured I'd ask.

Thanks in advance!

Sounds like Hermes is a risk taker. If your lid is solid now, I’d go ahead and get a mesh screen one. The oxygen exchange will be better and Hermes won’t go carpet surfing. My experience with blue leg hermits in a small tank is they go Rambo if they get too hungry. But if you feed a lot or there is other waste in the tank, you can probably get another without a problem. Also be aware that they are snail killers. Vicious little things.

 

[alton]

My favorite are Hawaiian Zebra and Scarlet Reef Hermits. Buy ten of each today and a year from now you will still have ten of each.

 

[ZipAdeeZoa]

Thanks everyone!

Hermits can right themselves no worries on that end. I have never had a hermit escape a tank, but have had snails and fish jump. Why i dont run without a lid.

Scarlets and blue legs ignore each other for the most part. Exceptions,
-I want your shell
-i want the food you have
-i thought i wanted your shell, now i have it, not so much.

Good to know! I plan on spot feeding them both similar sized portions to hopefully avoid that. There is certainly no shortage in extra shells but not much I can do about last one other than getting a slightly different sized crab.

Sounds like Hermes is a risk taker. If your lid is solid now, I’d go ahead and get a mesh screen one. The oxygen exchange will be better and Hermes won’t go carpet surfing. My experience with blue leg hermits in a small tank is they go Rambo if they get too hungry. But if you feed a lot or there is other waste in the tank, you can probably get another without a problem. Also be aware that they are snail killers. Vicious little things.

Thank for the heads up! I'm definitely switching to a mesh top but I wanted to try and account for the difference in evaporation to see if I needed to get a larger ATO container and how urgently I would need to do so. Luckily I'm not planning on getting any snails, I just enjoy the hermit crabs way to much.

My favorite are Hawaiian Zebra and Scarlet Reef Hermits. Buy ten of each today and a year from now you will still have ten of each.

Good to know! having such a small tank it was really got me to go with the blue leg but the zebra's are really cool. I just like the color of the Scarlet more and my girlfriend just loves red so I figured I could get something for the tank that we both enjoy- its all about compromise right;Hilarious