red legs and blue legs?

[pomme]

do these crabs eat the same algae, or do they tend to like different ones, as i have seen today that my local lfs now sells both.

so i was thinking about which one was better? do you guys have any preference?

or do you think they will be able to be kept together if supplied with enough food if their is not enough algae?

[R1Bill]

i have both in mine. most folks but not all, like the red legs better but they are much more expensive. many people really don't like the crabs at all and prefer snails. i have never seen a problem between blues and reds but "suspect" that the blues are more likely to attack snails for their shells.

bill

[pomme]

so bill you keep both red and blues, do you keep snails as well or not?

if so do you find some empty shells once in a while?
also whats year stocking levels of them, and what size of tank do you have, and do you have any other cleaners?

all info very greatfully received.

[R1Bill]

in my 180 w/300 lbs live rock, at the moment i probably have about 60 blue legs, 10 red legs and 30-50 snails of various kinds. could be more but it is hard to tell. there are tons of empty shells but blue leg hermits seem very particular about the shells they like.

bill

[pomme]

are the empty shells from you putting them in or the crabs eating the snails do you think?

[R1Bill]

i have never suspected the red legs attacking snails but i do suspect the blue legs. however i have never actually seen them attack a snail so i really don't know. it just seems that several of the larger blue legs are in shells that look like they recently had snails in them.

bill

[pomme]

oh so in your opinion with me just starting up a reef,

would you suggest i add both blue and red legs,

or just red legs?

[R1Bill]

most people would say to get only snails. however i like crabs and they are a lot cheaper and hardier then snails. i prefer the red legs but got mostly blue legs because they are cheap. look at your budget and size tank and make your choice. for a new 180, i would get about 200 hermits and add snails when everthing stabilizes in 2 months or so. other opinions will vary on this one!

bill

[MontanaRocknReefer]

According to one expert you will not see many hermits on a wild reef! I do not care for hermits as they kill snails for the shells and disrupt corals by walking all over them!

If I was to have hermits it would be one or two red legged scarlet hermits in my 80 gallon reef as they seem to be more mellow.

[R1Bill]

montana is correct on all counts. but, i have never actually seen a hermit harm a coral or kill a live snail. it may happen. everybodies experiences vary.

bill

[pomme]

yeah i think i am manly going to go for sanils and then maybe 10 crabs 5 red and 5 blues.

[Reefdude5]

I have a 120 with 30 red legged hermits and 75 tiny blue legged. I added a number of shells from Marinedepot.com toi supply them when they grow. I also have 80 or so snails. I've never had a problem with any of the cleaners except the sally lightfoots, which I won't even begin on!

[Mrs Smith]

I've seen blue legs take out snails. And more expensive nudis (my poor Chelidonuria varians!) . Blue legs are banned from our reef.

We have a couple of scarlets, but do make a point to keep "hermit upgrades" loose in the tank so they don't have to resort to snail killing.

Danielle

[salt creepette]

I havent been able to find any scarlet hermits, but i have red legs and blue legs. I just throw some pretty shells in the tank so the crabs are at least pretty to look at when they move into a new home. I havent had any snail assassinations yet. I kinda enjoy watching the crabs, they have character.

[Paradox]

In my 50 gallon, I have about 15 blu legs and 10 red legs. I have seen a large blue leg kill two large cortez snails. The smaller blue legs and all my reds seem pretty peaceful. In terms of algae grazing, the blues IMO eat hair algae faster than the reds, but overall, the snails seem to be the most efficient.

D.