Feeding Hermits

[iFisch]

Anyone "target" feed their hermits?

Well, I do.. somewhat. I give the pumps extra time off, when it's feeding time. My hermits immediately sense the smell, fall off rocks, and plummet down to the sand bed picking away at the pellets.


I was wondering if anyone uses like "sea algae" that you can clip on to a clip, and put it on/near the bottom where any crab can eat from it, or any "algae" or "meaty" bigger pieces of pellets out there safe for hermits?

I love mine to death. Each one has a personality, and some will even bump into the glass when they know I'm real, real close. Trying to "touch" me I think.



In my case, I don't visually see them all eat. At $9 a pop, I'd like to make sure they're well fed.

These are my main hermits:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+501+1639&pcatid=1639

"If there is an insufficient amount of algae present, the Halloween Hermit Crab will need to be fed dried seaweed, as well as meaty items such as mysis shrimp."


If sea algea doesn't work, I guess I would need to manually pick up each hermit, place it in a small container and drop in a a drop full of shrimp, eh?


I'm hoping the sea algae does the trick, but which one would I want?

 

[Guygettnby]

i dont target feed my hermits at all. i feed my tanks enough that they all get there share. i also make sure i turn off my pumps when i feed so everything in the tank has time to eat. i hate wasting food when it is so expensive.

 

[iFisch]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15050931#post15050931 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Guygettnby
i dont target feed my hermits at all. i feed my tanks enough that they all get there share. i also make sure i turn off my pumps when i feed so everything in the tank has time to eat. i hate wasting food when it is so expensive.

How long do you go before turning on the pumps again?

 

[Fluid]

I don't even turn my pumps off with my hermits. I've got about 8 and they are able to find food just fine. I may *slightly* overfeed my fish to keep the hermits happy, but I feel like they should have plenty of food as long as your feeding your fish on a regular schedule. usually there is a decent amount of algae for them to eat.

 

[Guygettnby]

i leave my pumps off for about 20-30 minutes. i leave my power heads on though. i just turn off my main pumps so that nothing gets sucked down the overflow until everything has a chance to get some food.

 

[hoonshikmc]

Love hermits myself =) As with everyone else though... I usually make sure there is enough food for everyone and leave the pumps off for about an hour so that all food sources can eventually sink to the bottom so that the hermits can get at them... just a heads up though... I am referring to the powerheads in the DT and not the sump.

 

[chaas]

Has anyone tried phyto-feast? It's a liquid concentration of microalgae and phytoplankton. I've been using it for a few months, mostly for my zoa colonies, but the hermits get a little hyper when it's feeding time. My brittle star and newly split seastars also show up. The only noticeable drawback seems to be a slight clouding of the water when feeding. I usually cut the pumps for 15 minutes or so. It's an 8g biocube.

 

[Paul B]

I also don't feed my hermits but I do turn off the pumps when I feed the fish.
These guys are over ten years old, I never fed them directly and they are even spawning.