Collecting Blue Legged Hermit Crabs in South Florida

[Razor]

Getting back into the hobby after selling my 155 years back.

My new 70 gallon is cycled and ready for livestock, so I headed out on my buddy's boat to collect some critters, only to find that the islands in the bay are full of snails and not a single blue legged hermit crab.

We used to be able to get them by the handful, so getting 20 (the daily limit) would take about 3 minutes.

Anyone in south florida been able to collect them in the wild lately?

 

[ReefWreak]

I can't speak to collectability, however I can speak to that i don't trust, use, or advocate the use of hermit crabs. They're neat critters, but they often will kill snails for the shells and are opportunistic omnivores.

 

[Razor]

I've used them in all my tanks. For me, their ability to clean algae etc is far superior to anything else I've tried, even if they kill a snail here or there or snack on my xenia. Plus, you can't beat free when I was able to get them at will locally.

What critters are you using instead?

 

[ReefWreak]

I've historically always gone with astrea snails, with the occasional conch if there is a large sand bed. With this new tank I was exposed to banded trochus snails, and they've been fantastic (except that they will occasionally twist back and forth quickly, and if they're on the glass, they'll scrape/ding their shell into the glass, that scares me that the glass is cracking somewhere. so far no actual issues).

I avoid crabs whenever possible. I also added emerald crabs due to bubble algae earlier in my tank's history, and I watch them eat algae all day and night, but the minute they turn to something else for food, they're gone.

 

[Uncle99]

I've used them in all my tanks. For me, their ability to clean algae etc is far superior to anything else I've tried, even if they kill a snail here or there or snack on my xenia. Plus, you can't beat free when I was able to get them at will locally.

What critters are you using instead?

With the exception of emeralds ( for bubble) I also will never put any crab in my DT.

Maintaining and deploying perfect stable water at all times clears up algae way faster than any crab.

 

[LowHangingFruit]

I've only had issues with electric blue Hermit crabs and emeralds.

 

[Razor]

If we're not using crabs, which type of snails? There are thousands of florida ceriths to be had. Are these good cleaners?

I currently have a few Nerite snails in the tank, but they seem more interested in climbing out then actually cleaning. I may end up returning them to the bay.

 

[ReefWreak]

If we're not using crabs, which type of snails? There are thousands of florida ceriths to be had. Are these good cleaners?

I've historically always gone with astrea snails, with the occasional conch if there is a large sand bed. With this new tank I was exposed to banded trochus snails, and they've been fantastic (except that they will occasionally twist back and forth quickly, and if they're on the glass, they'll scrape/ding their shell into the glass, that scares me that the glass is cracking somewhere. so far no actual issues).

I currently have a few Nerite snails in the tank, but they seem more interested in climbing out then actually cleaning. I may end up returning them to the bay.

Nerites are generally known to not be of much if any value to the aquarium, and do spend most of their time out of water. I would spend some time googling before adding anything to my tank. There are a few vendors that sell nerites and promote them, but I believe the general consensus is that nerites aren't useful, and could be negative additions to the tank.

 

[Razor]

I did research the nerite snails and am actually surprised how many vendors sell them after seeing how useless they really are. I have the advantage of being able to return them to their local habitat, which I'll do on my next boat trip.

How about the florida cerith?

 

[IowaReefer]

Getting back into the hobby after selling my 155 years back.

My new 70 gallon is cycled and ready for livestock, so I headed out on my buddy's boat to collect some critters, only to find that the islands in the bay are full of snails and not a single blue legged hermit crab.

We used to be able to get them by the handful, so getting 20 (the daily limit) would take about 3 minutes.

Anyone in south florida been able to collect them in the wild lately?

I did this around 10 years ago and feel like I only just recently had to replace them as they died off (or my wrasses got to them). Take the advice you get here with a grain of salt, everyone has their horror stories. If you like hermits, go get some! Personally, I have never had a problem with SMALL blue leg hermits. I try not to keep extra shells around for them to fight over and they seem content to root around in my rockwork for algae and scraps.

 

[Razor]

Thanks IowaReefer, I appreciate the feedback.