Hermit Crab Id Please...

[spockthepuffer]

Well I just bought some hermit crabs today.. they were called "reef hermit crabs" so I figured they were good but I googled for them and didn't really see any pictures of what I got...

 

[rlf_racing]

I wish I could help, Sorry I can't. But still that is a very cool looking crab.

 

[JokerGirl]

I'm not entirely sure what they are either, but I've had a ton of them in my tank without any problem.

 

[chrisstie]

Look up "cortez mexican red leg". Without a few other shots of him its hard to tell but they are one of the better hermit cleaners you can have in your tank- less opportunistic than blue legs etc.

DId you get them from an LFS? I'm happy to see them in stock! Sometimes other crabs are sold and are mislabelled or too aggresive to keep with snails.

 

[Ophidia]

Looks like a cortez hermit to me. It even has the same type of shell that all of mine had when I bought them. They've since diversified. One of them picked up a queen conch shell that it can barely move.

 

[spockthepuffer]

I couldn't find any good pictures of what a cortez looks like but thats probably what they are if thats what you all say.

Yes, I got them from my LFS, they had a ton in stock and were a good price too.

I had some bigger shells in the tank and within an hour one of the bigger guys found a different shell. I was so mad I didn't get to see him make the switch, I really want to see one move into another shell.

How big do these hermits get? Will they stay small or keep on growing?

 

[Packersfan21]

red tip hermit

 

[chrisstie]

I find these guys tend to stay small. More often than not I see them in the shell pictured (an ex cerith shell) but occasionally they'll take to others if they find it to be better realty. The others like blue legs, zebras, and even scarlets get larger so if you're working in a small space other species can just get inconvenient too