question about hermit crabs

[gabranth17]

i was just wondering if hermit crabs can be harmful to zoas and star polyps... this tank is a 10g with extensive zoas and star polyp colonies there are about 15 small blue ledged hermits. will they eat the corals? or are they actually helping them? thanks in advance

[ibanez2k]

crabs are opportunistic and will pretty much eat anything if they are hungry enough to, HOWEVER, blue legged's are very, very small. The odds of them harming your corals are almost non-existant. My experiance with hermits has led me to believe if there is algae to eat, you will pretty much never see a problem with them.

[gabranth17]

umm there not a lot of algae in my tank and there only one fish, so i dont really think they get much leftovers from the shrimp i feed the fish

[ibanez2k]

hmmm.. 15 might be a bit much for that tank then. 2 or 3 would be better if you don't have that much algae. Do they respond to and eat what you feed the fish? If so perhaps that will be enough to sustain them without alot of trouble.

[sks4613]

I have a 90 without about 30 hermits in it red and blue legs (didn't mean to mix them but they were freebies). In this tank I have a torch, bubble coral, some acan lords, pulsing xenia, kenya tree, fox coral, Zoas and palys, and ric's. They did go through my Nas snails pretty quick. Other than the snail massacre I have had no issues. 15 in a 10 is a lot IMO.

[gabranth17]

thanks guys..... they do react when i feed my fish(they star running up and down the LR) i guess ill give some away and keep a close eye on the remaining ones

[Loverotties]

Originally Posted by ibanez2k

hmmm.. 15 might be a bit much for that tank then. 2 or 3 would be better if you don't have that much algae. Do they respond to and eat what you feed the fish? If so perhaps that will be enough to sustain them without alot of trouble.

+1

[salty198]

They will also turn on each other and eat each other. .. Mine went after my snails and each other.. in my 90 I may have about 10 total.I started with maybe 20.. I now feed my crabs and snails a scallop (place on sand) every 3 or 4 days.. My pep shrimps come to feed on it too..scallop is gone within the hour.. When I relocate my tank I am not going to put these guys back in...IMO

+1 Ibanez2k...crabs are opportunistic and will pretty much eat anything if they are hungry enough to

[random]

Originally Posted by gabranth17

umm there not a lot of algae in my tank and there only one fish, so i dont really think they get much leftovers from the shrimp i feed the fish

We have some Omega One protein Veggie kelp pellets that sink. The 4 hermits & 3 (pepp.s and a cleaner) shrimp (in our 29 gal.) go crazy the second the food hits the water, & it's kinda fun to watch the mad dash they make to where they think the pellets will land.
Maybe that would help with yours?

[gabranth17]

makes sence..... ill try that thanks