hermit spawn?

[Sk8r]

One of my scarlets parked atop a rock under a candy cane head and refused to budge for the last number of days---crawled on by snails, nudged by the coral, just sat, tucked in, only the twitch of a feeler and the behavior of the coral saying this was not a dead crab.
Did my after-dark check with the flashlight just as she (I assume she) raised her shell up like a hood and released about a half a hundred swimmers that looked like a cloud of gnats in the light. I switched off and left the scene, assuming these are crab fry, or whatever one calls them, and not gnats.
There are no few micro-shells atop the substrate, the fish are dozing, and plenty of live rock: I suppose if they don't go down the standpipe a couple might make it...if that's what they are.

 

[The steven liu]

I guess the hardest part about spawning hermits in home is there is no shells small enough for the babies to use.... That is if they make it to that stage.

 

[Sk8r]

Yep: I'm still wondering if that's swhat happened. I'm using aragonite sand with lots of inclusions of truly tiny shells, so those might host, but I'm far from convinced any escaped the sump.

By tonight I finally violated my Prime Directive and intervened to lift mama hermit down to the sand bed so she could get some food, which she hasn't had for days.

She got up on her legs and wandered off: previously an emerald crab had wandered over her and gotten no response. I'd hate to think she gave her life for hatchlings that had no chance. So if it comes to intervening to give her a chance nature wouldn't give her---I got up on the ladder and moved her down to good grazing.

 

[Lev F.]

I'm not sure moving her is such a good idea, hermits shed shortly after they drop, you might be disturbing her.

 

[Sk8r]

Glad to have that info. She was snugged tight up under a fast-growing candy cane head: I was afraid it might get a grip on her shell. And certainly she'd become a trafficway for snails and the emerald...
But hereafter I'll leave her be. First time I've ever seen this process---it's a learning curve.

 

[kmk2307]

Those were probably zoea larvae of the hermit crab. In decapods, the female broods the and releases them when they hatch. Unfortunately, the larvae are probably doomed because they spend a long time as plankton. It's really cool that you were able to see the release of the larvae and it must mean that you have very happy hermits.

HTH,
Kevin

 

[racrumrine]

Once when my tank was fish less because the fish where in QT, I got to watch a blue leg hermit try out different shells.

It was fascinating to watch. On top of that, when the hermit exited the shell, it had black eggs all over it's back. It was really neat to see and I have never seen that behavior since.

Best of luck,

Roy