Sooo, The heck with Hermit crabs!

[kamehameha]

That is what CUC is for. Nassarius are not algae eaters, and hermits are both -- they will certainly enjoy scavenging meaty food instead of eating algae if meaty food is available.

I've seen folks even blame fish deaths on nassarius snails, when same thing -- the snails were scavenging and cleaning up the dead fish.

Yes, I don't think the snail had anything to do with it dying at all, I have actually seen those snails crawl over him while he was in his perch and he didn't seem to care. He would chase off the hermits and the yellow tang, but that seemed to be the only beef he had with the others.

 

[kamehameha]

You left the dead fish in the tank this whole time?

Yes, they ate him quite quickly.

 

[attiland]

The murder mystery….

 

[Rick's Reviews]

What are you needing clarification on?

Original question which is obviously... Leave it with you

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

Yes, they ate him quite quickly.

Well, it has been over 2 hours sooo...lol

 

[kamehameha]

Well, it has been over 2 hours sooo...lol

I mean its completely gone at this point, when I noticed it, he was more than half eaten. I don't know that it was enough time for the dead fish to wreck the tank.

 

[Joe31415]

They is a horrifying mental image.

Yes, it is. I wanted to reword it, but I couldn't think of a less horrifying way to write it. Besides, the idea of some crab shaped mafia goon backing a fish into a dark, isolated part of the tank was kinda funny.

 

[kamehameha]

Original question which is obviously... Leave it with you

Will a new YWG be okay in there with a pistol shrimp, or should I just go all medieval on the crabs?
That was the original question.

To clarify by medieval I mean take out the crabs. and as far as the first part, I guess another way of asking it would be, will a pistol shrimp protect the goby?

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

Will a new YWG be okay in there with a pistol shrimp, or should I just go all medieval on the crabs?
That was the original question.

To clarify by medieval I mean take out the crabs. and as far as the first part, I guess another way of asking it would be, will a pistol shrimp protect the goby?

I'd quarantine the goby to make sure it's healthy and not future hermit food. The goby is the protector in the shrimp/goby pairing

 

[kamehameha]

I'd quarantine the goby to make sure it's healthy and not future hermit food. The goby is the protector in the shrimp/goby pairing

For sure, I always QT for at least a month, but as far as this goby, I've had him for months, and he never showed any signs of illness, so unless the additional CUC that I added brought something in, I'm not sure what the problem was. :/

That is good to know though, I had been assuming the shrimp was more of the protector given its name lol

EDIT: I said always QT, but I have bought biota fish and put them right in.

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

For sure, I always QT for at least a month, but as far as this goby, I've had him for months, and he never showed any signs of illness, so unless the additional CUC that I added brought something in, I'm not sure what the problem was. :/

That is good to know though, I had been assuming the shrimp was more of the protector given its name lol

EDIT: I said always QT, but I have bought biota fish and put them right in.

yeah sometimes they just kick the bucket for seemingly no reason always sucks to lose a waterbuddy...

 

[kamehameha]

yeah sometimes they just kick the bucket for seemingly no reason always sucks to lose a waterbuddy...

It does suck! He is the only fish we named which feels like a cliché. I've just never had one die that quickly, or where I didn't see it coming. It seems there is usually time to try to fix an issue.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

Will a new YWG be okay in there with a pistol shrimp, or should I just go all medieval on the crabs?
That was the original question.

To clarify by medieval I mean take out the crabs. and as far as the first part, I guess another way of asking it would be, will a pistol shrimp protect the goby?

Please don't add me to your original post as it is so disordally and you keep poking at me, your condridiction of every answer provided is... Let's say questioned, your original post is one thing and your proposed post is another.. please stop refering to me.

 

[kamehameha]

Please don't add me to your original post as it is so disordally and you keep poking at me, your condridiction of every answer provided is... Let's say questioned, your original post is one thing and your proposed post is another.. please stop refering to me.

Not sure how I am poking or upsetting you, but I was quoting you because you asked me to clarify so I attempted to. Good luck to you in your future endeavors, apologies if I have offended you in some way!

 

[nicksreefs]

Love hermit crabs... daft little so and so's... one even grew into a large shell brought back from holiday (properly cleaned and sterilised obvs!)

That said they are crabs and while they are great at scavenging etc etc... the worst punishment for a turbo snail in the snail legal system is to end up in my display tank
Haven't added any snails since I worked out the cause as frankly I'm not running a buffet here & snails are people too

Will they take out a goby though? not sure... I've got a royal gramma who's lair is frequented by one or two of the bigger crabs and no issues at all. maybe it was something else and they are just taking the heat or it could be you've got a killer crab in there.

 

[JoJosReef]

Not sure how I am poking or upsetting you, but I was quoting you because you asked me to clarify so I attempted to. Good luck to you in your future endeavors, apologies if I have offended you in some way!

Re: original question about going medieval on the hermits, I'm inclined to agree with others that they might be innocent. So unless they've been problematic in the past, I would let them off with a warning.

I think it's hard to tell why some of our livestock die--sometimes it's obvious, sometimes not.

I'd get another goby going in QT and watch the hermits for any unusual behavior--can always move them out during QT period if you find them nibbling on coral or bothering other living livestock.

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

It does suck! He is the only fish we named which feels like a cliché. I've just never had one die that quickly, or where I didn't see it coming. It seems there is usually time to try to fix an issue.

It's always the named fish that go first! I don't know why but it hasn't failed yet

 

[coralfishreef]

Will a new YWG be okay in there with a pistol

Tiger pistol shrimps will actively hunt down smaller snails, hermit crabs, and coral frags.

should I just go all medieval on the crabs?

The tiger pistol shrimp will go medieval on your snails and crabs for you.

I have to replace snails and crabs about once a year because of the pistol shrimp. It has an expensive diet.

 

[Regular_Reefer]

I just ordered a reef cleaners hermit and snail pack about a week ago to put in my tank, the snails have been great, but today, the stupid hermit crabs killed my yellow watchman goby. I didn't think they were capable of it but he was pretty small still about 1.5 to 2 inches. He was happy and healthy in my tank for ~5 months and was out eating today. I didn't see them get him just the after math.

Since he was a daredevil and looked so cool, he was the favorite fish in the aquarium for the whole family. I would like to replace him, but I'm wondering now if a pistol shrimp would have kept him safe from the stupid crabs. I would be quite happy to yank all of them out and just let the murderous jerks die at the moment!

What do you think? Will a new YWG be okay in there with a pistol shrimp, or should I just go all medieval on the crabs?

I agree with most of the posts, very unlikely the hermits did the dirt. If you get another watchman I paired mine with a pistol at the same time and they buddied up within a week, by far my favorite duo in the tank and have been sharing the same caves for about a year and a half now

 

[Regular_Reefer]

It's always the named fish that go first! I don't know why but it hasn't failed yet

So true I just lost my clown today (only loss so far) my kids named him Nemo (go figure)