greenmonkey51
New member
What hermits do you guys like. I don't want any that get big. I just want a few to help around the tank. Maybe clean a little hair algae up. I already have some ceriths that do a good job, but want some diversity.
Hermit Crabs
- Thread starter greenmonkey51
- Start date
thecichlidpleco
New member
Never have seen them pick at coral, rather just clumsy and barrel over them irritating and retracting the polyps. However, they are opportunistic and will kill your snails, if you got any and especially the astrea that are too dumb to flip themselves over, when they get hungry. I have probably had the same crabs for two years but, I need to replenish my snails every 6 months or so. My next tank will be all snails and possibly and emerald crab.
FranktheTankTx
New member
I personally love hermits. I wouldn't own a tank without a dozen or so little guys crawling around. Sometimes I get the most pleasure out of my tank by watching the little idiots crawl, tumble and stumble around my reef. I would suggest some blue leg hermits - they are small, and for the most part harmless.
You could be like me - and when they get bigger, bag them up and take them to your LFS to trade in on smaller ones. I end up trading in once or twice a year for smaller ones. Trust me, when they are the size of an eraser they can't hurt anything if they tried.
You could be like me - and when they get bigger, bag them up and take them to your LFS to trade in on smaller ones. I end up trading in once or twice a year for smaller ones. Trust me, when they are the size of an eraser they can't hurt anything if they tried.
ludnix
New member
I love scarlet legged hermits. Mine are still in the original snails and have never killed a snail. I have a few snail deaths do to a large blue and white legged hermit but he interesting enough to watch that it's worth it.
My scarlet hermits will sit and pick at hair algae all day. In my 120 there is none because of the tangs, but I threw a scarlet hermit in my pico that had a good lawn growing and he absolutely decimated it. I'm considering throwing another in there. Stick with the small blue legged hermits and scarlet hermits and you should have a pleasant experience.
My scarlet hermits will sit and pick at hair algae all day. In my 120 there is none because of the tangs, but I threw a scarlet hermit in my pico that had a good lawn growing and he absolutely decimated it. I'm considering throwing another in there. Stick with the small blue legged hermits and scarlet hermits and you should have a pleasant experience.
CIGDAZE
New member
I, too, like hermits, they're definitely enjoyable to watch and they do a heck of a job cleaning up. I started with a dozen and a half small ones, and they're fantastic for finding and cleaning up all the "leftovers," and even fish waste from the sand and all the hard-to-reach crevices in and around the reef. But in a matter of a few months, they're more than doubled in size, have about wiped out my snail population, and have recently decided that leftovers aren't enough, so they go for the prime pickings. You should see them steadfastly marching toward my lower-lying corals when it's feeding time. My Sun Coral was starving because during feeding I'd have a swarm of hermits (16 at one time) picking, clawing and clamoring all over my sun. They'd literally rip food out of all the little polyp mouths. I've even seen some climb up above my coral and dive bomb it. (Got to admit, it's pretty funny) Needless to say, I've had to cut back on the hermits. I've returned them and am down to about 6 small ones now and things are better now. Out of all of this, I guess the only thing I'd want to impress upon anyone is to simply keep an eye on them, because they are tenacious little buggers.
FranktheTankTx
New member
Definitely don't let them fool you - while you may think they are slow movers, they'll go 0 to 60 in 5.2 when you introduce food to the tank.
