Hermit crabs or nooooo

[Michael Gray]

So far I wanted to stay away from crabs as they eat snails and possible pick at coral.

my Snails are finally doing pretty darn good at rocks. but the sand still has the green fuzzy algae and i was thinking maybe add some small small dwarf blue hermits to see if the polish off my sand.. 100g tank with 130lbs rock. I ordered 25 today. but now im worried i may regret it so i want to cancel or maybe reduce the number. i have to wake up early to change or cancel my order by 9am CST time monday or im stuck.

Should i stay away from the dwarf blue or am I over exaggerating. lol

 

[Rjramos]

They definitely aren’t gonna touch the snails or the coral. 25 is not a lot for your size tank.

 

[Blackice]

IMO I wouldn’t worry. In my nano I have nassarius, Mexican turbo, and trochus snails with blue leg hermits and the hermits never mess with my snails or corals

 

[Michael Gray]

IMO I wouldn’t worry. In my nano I have nassarius, Mexican turbo, and trochus snails with blue leg hermits and the hermits never mess with my snails or corals

i guess i can always try it and also send them to the yard if they start ticking me off lol... or put maybe 10 in and other 15 in my 15g QT tank for my skunk shrimp and always add a few more if all goes well

once they grow to big and take out snails ill just replace em.. SEEE YA hermit!

 

[Katrina71]

Crabs are cool. Blue or red legged. Get empty shells and they won't mess with your snails.

 

[Fishurama]

I have had red legs eat zoas, while most don't though. Never a snail unless it was already dying. IMO if your tank has enough food for them they should be good and if you ever catch them eating a coral/snail banish them to the sump. They will have "unlimited" food.

 

[Michael Gray]

I have had red legs eat zoas, while most don't though. Never a snail unless it was already dying. IMO if your tank has enough food for them they should be good and if you ever catch them eating a coral/snail banish them to the sump. They will have "unlimited" food.

yea if i removed the filter socks lol..

ill prob put in 10..then slowly add the other 15 over a month IF i dont see any issues

 

[JayChen]

All you need is a diamond goby, it will clean your substrate like crazy.

 

[Michael Gray]

All you need is a diamond goby, it will clean your substrate like crazy.

I agree but i have OCD if i go to the office and see Piles of sand and barebottom.. ill flip ahaha

 

[Phycodurus]

it’s my understanding that blue-legged hermits & scarlets are the least-prone to attacking snails. (actually, halloween hermit too?)

like Katrina71 stated above, place an assortment of empty shells in the tank to minimize aggression.

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

Cerith snails like to go through the sand and will eat hair algae, cyanobacteria, and diatoms. My sand is always clear of these algae.

 

[jeffchapok]

A conch has been the best thing I've had so far to keep my substrate clean.

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

We never kept crabs of any kind in our 75gallon reef tank. I think if you have the right snails, hermits aren't necessary. All crabs can be opportunistic.

 

[hart24601]

I tried to avoid crabs in my tank, but there are spots the crabs are just so good at getting that snails and even urchins can't that I finally gave in. They might take a snail sometimes, but I just didn't see a way to avoid having them.

 

[Malifry97]

Honestly, I love hermit crabs. IMO they add so much movement and personality. They are also very fun to watch.

 

[Michael Gray]

25 mini dwarf blue legged showed up at the door today. They are tiny!

 

[BeejReef]

Hermits are cool. I don't often see mine doing much with the sand though... a little maybe, but they mostly stick to the rockwork... digging the yuckies out of crevices and holes. They also really to after frag plugs and keep new algae to a minimum.

I'm sure I'll get a bad one and have to eat my words, but it seems like peeps have an unnatural fear of crabs going after corals. I mean, they cost $4 and are about the easiest thing in the tank to catch. Seems like high reward to very low risk IMHO.

 

[Silver14SS]

Honestly, I love hermit crabs. IMO they add so much movement and personality. They are also very fun to watch.

It is very amusing watching a crab try to get away from a pincushion urchin intent on picking it up.

 

[William Mumford]

i guess i can always try it and also send them to the yard if they start ******* me off lol... or put maybe 10 in and other 15 in my 15g QT tank for my skunk shrimp and always add a few more if all goes well

once they grow to big and take out snails ill just replace em.. SEEE YA hermit!

Give them bigger empty shells to go into they kill them for there house.

 

[Dal-Reef]

A conch has been the best thing I've had so far to keep my substrate clean.

I agree.... added 3 to my tank last weekend they have been cruising around the sand have a feast