Dead Red Legs

[sagwala]

Ok i added 6 reg legged hermits about a week ago along with 6 small turbo's, i then added another 6 reg legs and now about 4 or 5 are dead. they look like they have been torn apart. I have added 10 or so empty shells in too. Are they killing each other???

 

[Avi]

Are you certain that they're the remains of death hermits...It could be that they shed their outer skeletons which is something they....like other crabs and shrimp...do periodically and regularly. It looks like the tattered remains of a dead hermit but the hermit just shed and grows that way.

 

[sagwala]

I'm pretty sure they are the dead crabs. Mostly i can just see the legs and it looks like there is fleshy stuff where the rest should be but i suppose i could be wrong. Should i remove whats left or will the crabs that are left finish them off for dinner!!

Also there are a few of the others in thier shells that have not moved for a day is this normal. All my parameters are fine.

Cheers

 

[Coffman34]

I'm going to say they have molted. I found a pair of "red legs" and was worried that one of my two blue hermits got ahold of the red legged one. But that was not the case, I saw him about 15 mins later. That would be the reason they are hiding in their shells and not moving. I know mine was on top of my rock pile and then fell, but stayed on the sand for a day or two before he began to climb the rock again. It looked like just a pair of legs with flesh on the top, like they had been ripped apart. I took the legs out and threw them away.

Coffman

 

[Avi]

You can remove the dead remains of the hermits whether it is the actual hermit of just the remains of its molt. Otherwise it will eventually disappear on its own. But, if all of your water testing shows good results and you aren't losing any other fish or inverts in your tank, it's most likely molting rather than the death of your Redlegs. Be sure to have a variety of empty shels on the substrate of your reef so that as the hermits grow, they can change shells which is a natural process.

 

[coast2coast7390]

they only molt their leggs claws and head the rest is soft hence the shell...if you are seeing emty shells then they are probabally killing each other for the others shell...

 

[coast2coast7390]

they only molt their leggs claws and head the rest is soft hence the shell...if you are seeing emty shells then they are probabally killing each other for the others shell...ive had a hermit walk around with out a shell cause it didnt like the ones i put in...it would usually put its rear end in a hole in the LR...sometimes it would walk around and scavenge

 

[sagwala]

Thanks for the help everyone. There are plenty of empty shells in there of a good variety of sizes so hopefully it is just them molting. After they molt do they hide away for a bit then. I will keep an eye on them and see what they do. If i leave the remains in they tank will that cause any spikes in parms.

Also i just saw what looks like a snail (very small) without a shell but it had large tenticles. Could not get a pic as it was so small, 1/2 inch max. Any ideas????

Ta!

 

[zeusfc]

Hi, just a couple of observations...

shell replacement seems to be tied to the moons activity... I know from discussing with friends in England, that ALL our crustys do it at the same time... give or take a day... mine all shed on sunday!

Hermits do NOT only shed the exoskeleton from their legs... it's just much thinner over their bodies, and as such the first thing that gets eaten in the tank... normally by the hermit itself, as it desperately tries to replace the lost calcium in its own body!

That 1/2" non-snail sounds like a nudibraich... (sea slug) Nudis normally eat food the same colour as them, so If it's green, then it's probably an algae-eater... if it's pink and spiky then it's "look out star polyps"... do a google on sea slugs to see just how many it looks like!

they don't have a long lifespan, so don't bother naming it, unless it's after your least favourite politician or an ex-partner!

 

[uscharalph]

There's so many places to hide in my tank that it's almost impossible to inventiory crabs, snails and peppermint shrimp.

 

[zeusfc]

Don't worry about a spike in parameters... if they'd been eaten, then the ammonia goes out in the skimmer(-ish!) and if they're just exoskeletons, then the only thing that would rise would be calcium, and only very, very, slightly... no bad things!