thoughts on hermit crabs?

[Gabi480]

so what are some thougths? At first I did not want any but I bought 15 more then 4 months ago. I was just wondering what you people thought? I have a 80 gal reef.
Gabi

 

[Dubbin1]

They do a good job at cleaning up and are a blast to watch.

 

[Gabi480]

thats what I always thought. But they knock over alot of ****. Some people hate them.

 

[TekCat]

Gabi480, I think people hate them because they could kill. Typically they kill snais for their shells. When hermits grow, their shells become too small for them, so they look for new home. To avoid this as much as possible get some empty shells and put them in tank.

 

[Cody Ray]

They woudn't knock things over if they were attached properly

 

[LekicINC]

i would stick to scarlet and dwarf blue legs, the rest get big. Some used to pick at my corals.

 

[neotekz]

my hermits will only kill a snail for it;s shell or if the snail is dying. if your hermits are small then u can count on them killing some of your snails but when they have a big enough shell they will leave your snails alone.

 

[mikeatjac]

I have 5 in my tank and I think they are benificial. I don't see any advantage to have more.

 

[tangreef68]

i think the rule is 1 crab for every 2 gallons.

 

[Dubbin1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6503539#post6503539 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ChinChek787
They woudn't knock things over if they were attached properly

So how do you properly attach a crab?

 

[Airman]

A good cleaning crew is a must for my tank.

 

[catdoc]

I started out with blue legs, zebra, and red tips. One by one they either killed each other or I fed them to my peacock mantis (b/c they were getting BIG and mean). Now, I only have scarlets. They seem to be much more peaceful and don't get so big. The scarlets are sometimes harder to find, but keep your eyes on liveaquaria and pick them up when they are a weekly special for a better deal.

 

[ACBlinky]

I like them for the most part. I have tiny bluelegs and a scarlet in my reef, and almost never see them - they spend all their time in the rockwork cleaning up. In my FOWLR I have some gigantic electric blues and and electric orange, a few Hawaiian zebras that will get pretty big, scarlets and a handfull of bluelegs. There's really nothing for them to knock over and only one coral frag that nobody bothers. I imagine the hawkfish will make meals of the smaller ones, but the three huge crabs are nearly as big as he is so I don't worry. Those three are purely decoration - I could care less if they clean, as they provide endless amusement .

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

I love my scarlets. I have them in my main reef and they only time they bother a snail is if an astrea gets stuck upside down - I dont blame them for that. They help stir up the sand a bit too.

I ordered 2 dwarf blue legs from LiveAquaria, and recieved a third which looked different from another reefer. I put these in my nano, where they have eaten every snail in sight. IMO, Scarlets are the way to go.

 

[Gabi480]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6503539#post6503539 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ChinChek787
They woudn't knock things over if they were attached properly

So you do I properly attach corals? Such as a little green star polyp frag I got and am trying to grow. Or some zoo braches (rare though)?
To everyone else thanks for the input.

 

[ACBlinky]

Superglue gel. Try to glue outside the tank if you can, using it underwater is tricky. It bonds in seconds, holds like nothing else and is totally reef-safe.

 

[GaryZ]

I, personally, don't use any crabs. I've found that there is pretty much a snail for every duty. Between the snails, the tang, the blenny, and the goby....my tank is pristine.

 

[cweder]

GaryZ, which snails, tangs, gobies and blennies do you like to use and for what job?

I like astrea and cerith snails. The ceriths live in the sand and come out in the evening to eat.

 

[TekCat]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6506852#post6506852 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cweder
The ceriths live in the sand and come out in the evening to eat.

I think you mean Nassarius snails.

 

[GaryZ]

I use Astrea and a few Turbo's for the rocks and glass. Nassarius for the sandbed. They are in and out all day long. Far from nocturnal as far as I'm concerned. 2 Queen Conch for the bed (I have a 4" DSB in a 150). I have a Gold Head (sand sifter) Goby for the bed as well. He pretty much grabs the leftovers and does a nice job keeping the sand nice a fresh. An Algae Blenny, Yellow Tang and Copperband Butterfly are on rock duty, with the Copperband moonlighting on the Aiptasia. Round out the team with a cleaner shrimp and everyone is happy.

The tank is a year old and I've never had any nuisance algae....ever. (knock on wood)

I'm sure people will come and say that my cleaning crew is inadequate, but whatever. I even dose Phyto-Feast three times a week.

I keep a ridgid lighting schedule and have alot of flow and turbulence, I'm sure this helps alot. But so far, if it ain't broke...why fix it?