Halloween Hermit crab question

[Denisk]

Brought home a Halloween hermit crab and it seemed to be doing super well for the first day. The second day around I noticed it just picked a corner of the tank and has been super still. However I can tell it is still alive and all my other hermits and shrimp are moving and grooving.

is this normal?
He ready to molt? Sadly wasn’t expected he needed a new shell so I don’t have a larger one.
should I do anything?

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Brought home a Halloween hermit crab and it seemed to be doing super well for the first day. The second day around I noticed it just picked a corner of the tank and has been super still. However I can tell it is still alive and all my other hermits and shrimp are moving and grooving.

is this normal?
He ready to molt? Sadly wasn’t expected he needed a new shell so I don’t have a larger one.
should I do anything?

How did you acclimate him? Hopefully slow drip. This is a great educational recording from a recent club meeting:

Inverts are more sensitive than fish. '

If you think it could be a larger shell need, then perhaps you might get it one, just in case. However instead suspect differences in water parameters between store's and your tanks.

Fingers crossed.

 

[Denisk]

How did you acclimate him? Hopefully slow drip. This is a great educational recording from a recent club meeting:

Inverts are more sensitive than fish. '

If you think it could be a larger shell need, then perhaps you might get it one, just in case. However instead suspect differences in water parameters between store's and your tanks.

Fingers crossed.

Yeah I mean I’ve had countless hermit crabs over the year but never a Halloween hermit. I’ve always acclimated and never lost a shrimp or any snails/hermits.

Just wasn’t sure if Halloween hermit do things like this sometimes?

also not sure where to get a conch shell last minute

 

[Jeeperz]

How did you acclimate him? Hopefully slow drip. This is a great educational recording from a recent club meeting:

Inverts are more sensitive than fish. '

If you think it could be a larger shell need, then perhaps you might get it one, just in case. However instead suspect differences in water parameters between store's and your tanks.

Fingers crossed.

Except, slow drip will cause toxic ammonia spike if they were in the bag any length of time. Most invert suppliers tell you to temp acclimate or a couple water additions in a short time and put in tank. See reefcleaners for their methods. Halloween are oddball, slow movers sit in one spot digging at sand, hide in shells for days, etc... And they have a taste for conch, for their shell

 

[Denisk]

Except, slow drip will cause toxic ammonia spike if they were in the bag any length of time. Most invert suppliers tell you to temp acclimate or a couple water additions in a short time and put in tank. See reefcleaners for their methods. Halloween are oddball, slow movers sit in one spot digging at sand, hide in shells for days, etc... And they have a taste for conch, for their shell

Ok gotcha so It seems like this isn’t out of the ordinary haha

 

[kevgib67]

Yeah I mean I’ve had countless hermit crabs over the year but never a Halloween hermit. I’ve always acclimated and never lost a shrimp or any snails/hermits.

Just wasn’t sure if Halloween hermit do things like this sometimes?

also not sure where to get a conch shell last minute

It might not be last minute but Reefcleaners sells replacement conch shells of various sizes.

 

[Denisk]

It might not be last minute but Reefcleaners sells replacement conch shells of various sizes.

I’ll take a look. Thanks!

 

[Rick's Reviews]

You can buy various shells 'batwing' was my last purchase due to variation on shell, but honestly my hermit/ large has not botherd my conch snail at all in 2 years.
If you provide enough shells I'm sure hermits will appreciate the different homes provided and will be less agressive towards each other

 

[Jeeperz]

You can buy various shells 'batwing' was my last purchase due to variation on shell, but honestly my hermit/ large has not botherd my conch snail at all in 2 years.
If you provide enough shells I'm sure hermits will appreciate the different homes provided and will be less agressive towards each other

That's what I thought, but my Halloween still murdered 2 conchs to inspect their shells but decided his was better. I had about a dozen different sized conch shells on the sand just to prevent this

 

[Denisk]

Since Saturday the Halloween hermit still hasn’t been moving from the place I took photos. I don’t know what it looks like when hermits molt but my cleaner shrimp molted just fine over the weekend. Odd that everything else including all the corals are doing great. I also don’t want to be that person that pokes it but I’m not sure if it’s dead or not. I would assume all the other hermits and shrimp would go after it if it was.

 

[I never finish anythi]

Poke it . I think it's a gonner .

 

[Denisk]

Poke it . I think it's a gonner .

Lol he is long gone. Not sure what caused it though ‍

 

[Rick's Reviews]

Pick up the shell and move it to where you can visually see if it moves, sometimes my hermit hides for days

 

[I never finish anythi]

Mine was the same for two days . Thought it was just chilling, but he never went back in the shell even at night so the penny eventually dropped.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

Since Saturday the Halloween hermit still hasn’t been moving from the place I took photos. I don’t know what it looks like when hermits molt but my cleaner shrimp molted just fine over the weekend. Odd that everything else including all the corals are doing great. I also don’t want to be that person that pokes it but I’m not sure if it’s dead or not. I would assume all the other hermits and shrimp would go after it if it was.

I put 'batwing' shells in my aquriam just for my Halloween hermit, I don't even know where it got this shell from.
I agree though, other hermits and snails do tend to gather to a death.

 

[Denisk]

EXCITING NEWS!! I literally am walking by the tank for the 1000th time today as usual.. AND at the corner of the tank I see my Halloween hermit chowing down on some algae. I honestly thought I did something wrong and sadly caused the death of the hermit crab.

Funny thing is my GF gives names to all my fish and inverts so when I got him, she decided to name it “Michael Myers” lol… I guess you could say it was a fitting name

Thank goodness for deciding to just put the shell towards the back of the tank. I always had the hopes of getting another Halloween hermit . It turns out he really did just molt. Who knew it would take about a week.

Genuinely had to ask my GF to pinch me because I couldn’t believe it was alive

 

[captpetefl]

Let’s get a poll…

SHED
or
DEAD

????

 

[happyhourhero]

Mine will molt > sit in the same spot for days > be fine. It’s done it many times. Sometimes its perch is high up in an acro colony so I always worry but it always comes back. I think they molt and then hide in the shell until they are good to go. Mine never goes after my conchs as their openings aren’t quite what it likes. Cone snail shells and olive shells are its favs. I usually bring a couple back from the beach and it sometimes will move into them.

 

[captpetefl]

Mine will molt > sit in the same spot for days > be fine. It’s done it many times. Sometimes its perch is high up in an acro colony so I always worry but it always comes back. I think they molt and then hide in the shell until they are good to go. Mine never goes after my conchs as their openings aren’t quite what it likes. Cone snail shells and olive shells are its favs. I usually bring a couple back from the beach and it sometimes will move into them.

It was most definitely a molt - he’s alive and well!