How Many is too many.. Hermits

[SeanySean]

Evening all,

Is there a "rule of thumb" for how many hermits you can have, I have over a hundred herits for my tank yet during the day you can only see the larger ones, normally they hide in the LR.

Due to this I was thinking of maybe 50 - 100 more,

a couple of other things with hermits,

When they are out at night sometimes I see hermits frantically shaking, maby loving maybe hating, anybody know? if it is hating they don't know how to kill, lol, as not one has died.

Also my lfs shop said they do not grow much more than when bought (2mm) Blue hermits, yet some of them have changed shells a couple of times, what is an average size for a small hermit?

Cheers all,


Sean

 

[Andrew]

You don't want a lot but I wouldn't get get more then 1 per 2 gallons. Say, 5 for a 10 gallon, 10 for a 20 gallon, and ect. Too many of them can cause problems. Make sure you have some extra shells laying around because if you have snails they will take their shells.

 

[SeanySean]

As my poor N snali found out,

The spider hermit waited for him to come out of the sand then WACK ambush, credit to the spider crab it is a nice shell,
but I always have a Wardrobe in one corner for them to try out what they like - Must have been a woman crab, LOL

 

[Andrew]

btw, blue hermits don't get too large. They stay less then 1''

 

[SeanySean]

1".... me thinks that should be ok. 100 or so enough for now

Got to see my first changeover couple of months ago, how ugly,

When they look to be attacking each other are they, well... umm. you know, procreating

 

[supernareg]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6532366#post6532366 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SeanySean
Must have been a woman crab, LOL

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[bertoni]

Maybe sometimes, but mostly they're squabbling. In the concentrations most aquarists keep them, they're very overcrowded by their standards. I wouldn't put more than 2-3 in a 900L tank, actually, I wouldn't put any. I got tired of the predation.

 

[SeanySean]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6532700#post6532700 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bertoni
Maybe sometimes, but mostly they're squabbling. In the concentrations most aquarists keep them, they're very overcrowded by their standards. I wouldn't put more than 2-3 in a 900L tank, actually, I wouldn't put any. I got tired of the predation.

Speachless....

 

[Andrew]

Actually, some people have had problems with blue hermits eating and bothering their corals.

 

[SeanySean]

HEADACHE......

I have various hermitys 90% are blue but they only "seem" to go for the sand in the wee hours of the morning. the others are fine as I have had them for time now.

Andrew, what is your experience with your blues. Please tell me you have them, lol

 

[bertoni]

My hermits ate snails, including the blue. I didn't lose any corals to them (I think), but they do clean out live sand to a fair degree, IME.

 

[DrBDC]

Crabs=not reef safe IMO. They will pick at polyps, steal food, kill fish, kill snails, etc. etc. etc. FOWLR maybe but in most because of the fish usually chosen THEY will end up the food.

 

[Andrew]

My blue hermits I had ate some of my zoas.

 

[SeanySean]

Hummm.... I have never had a problem with them... YET.

I am not sure what to believe, maybe this one is down to personal experience and preferance. here I am with over a hundred of the little creatures and I think not enough....