hermit crab max size????

[rrrrob]

how big can I expect this thing to get? Including shell, it's about the size of a baseball. I am out of shells and have no idea where to get a bigger one. Plus, although it's mainly a FO tank, he/she is tearing everything down (rocks, etc.) within a matter of days.

 

[graveyardworm]

I saw one recently at an LFS that was in a conch shell the size of a football with claws that could take your finger off.

 

[rrrrob]

oh great

 

[jaymz101]

Oops....just wait till he starts eating your fish....

 

[rrrrob]

ive never had one get this big, and one I bought beforehand in the same tank is still quite small...anyone with ideas on larger shell procurement, please let me know

 

[Opcn]

ebay

 

[graveyardworm]

The majority of the ones commonly found in the hobby stay small, but on occasion a whopper comes along.

 

[mamagoose45]

Strawberry crab - they get HUGE.

 

[rrrrob]

um....how huge....???

 

[mamagoose45]

Like graveyardworm mentioned, they get big enough to call a queen conch shell home - queen conch shells average about 12 inches from tip to tip... If you do the math, that makes for one big ol' hermit crab...

There's another type of hermit that looks similar to the one in your picture called the "Giant Hermit Crab" (creative name, huh?) that gets around 12 inches across the leg span. They are not reef safe as they will eat whatever they can catch or scavenge...

I'd say one way or another he's going to take down something in your tank - either a fellow critter or a nice bit of aquascaping...

 

[rrrrob]

...or SHE...

 

[rrrrob]

one last thing...herms seem kinda slow/awkward/clumsy...so I have a hard time believing it can snag one of my fish--am I being naive???

 

[Opcn]

There are starfish that cancatch fish.

 

[graveyardworm]

It'll get them at night when they are sleeping

 

[rrrrob]

anyone want a large hermit crab?

 

[Lpabsolute]

I've seen some about twice that size.......Good luck giving that big thing away

 

[pagojoe]

He will bulldoze your tank more and more as he gets bigger, but shells that will fit him won't be a problem if you want to keep him. I doubt this crab is one of the species that would use a Queen Conch. It looks like his current shell is Busycotypus canaliculatus, so other, larger, Busycon or Busycotypus shells should work great for him. You might try giving him shells in increments of about one inch: if his present shell is five inches long, try to get him one that is six inches, then seven, etc. His current shell is dextral, or right-handed, so he might not accept any of the left-handed species.

Search eBay for "Busycon carica" or "Busycon spiratum," or just "whelk." Many of the shells on eBay are misidentified, so make sure that the opening is on your right side, as you hold (or look at) the shell with the spire up and the opening facing you.

Cheers,



Don

 

[rrrrob]

thanks don...didn't even consider the right-hand/left-hand aspect....had no idea it mattered...he's been in different kinds of shells, though up to the point (like 4 or 5), so maybe he's amphidexterous....I always just looked for ones with a rounded opening...I hope you're right that he's not going to get as big as others have said he could get!