Very large hermits

[Animal Mother]

We just picked up a very large blue-leg hermit. It's in a shell the size of a golf ball.

I wasn't aware blue-legs could grow this large, so I'm thinking it must not be one of the popular dwarf blue-legs.

Anyone have experience with these large hermits and will it be reef safe? I know some of them grow to about softball size, but this guy has the blue-striped legs, looks identical to the dwarfs.

 

[philter4]

It probably is a pacific hermit, Calcinus elegans. The elegant hermit, everywhere except HI they are blue, in HI they have bright orange legs. The more comon name in the trade is electric blue hermit, or sometimes I've seen them as blue knuckle hermits. Good hermits, even though they get large if you have enough algae or a substitute food they are peaceful and good cleaner for uneaten food and algae. Golf ball size is a large one, they usually come in at about 1/2 that size, but I've seen a few that are that big.

 

[lloydkeller]

just make sure your rock work is steady they can bulldoze right through things

 

[Animal Mother]

Cool, thanks.