to hermit or not to hermit that is the question

[gearqueer]

I have heard recently that hermits will pick at corals. I have LPS and SPS and soft corals. Does anyone know if I should get rid of my hermits? Are they impeding my coral growth?

 

[sirbooks]

What kind of hermits? Some are very destructive, while others rarely bother anything else. The common blue leg, red leg, and scarlet hermits that just about everybody sells fall into the second category. Though they may kill other hermits or snails to get at the shells, most of the time they leave everything else alone.