Anybody else dislike hermits??

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i have a love hate thing for my blue legs. they killed all my snails but they do a good job of cleaning. i would get rid of them for some snails cause my walls need cleaning but i dont know where to give them to. i have a scarlet leg hermit too and he is my favorite. like you i have an emerald crab, and that guy is the best. ive had him for about three months and i never get tired of him.
 
Nubes, Keep your eye out in the fish store for a pom pom aka Boxer crab. I love mine. He is so interesting. These are the crabs that carry around little anemones in their claws. Mine just found another anemone the other day and now has 2!!! I am so excited for him. =) lol... He's a pretty shade of salmon pink.
 
hmmmm - i don't have a pom pom crab. do you see it often? or does it mainly stay hidden? where did it find the other anemone i wonder? what type of anemones does it use? is it harmful to anything in the aquarium? reason i ask is i don't want a repeat of the sally lightfoot ordeal like i had :)
 
They are completely harmless. They're actually pretty defenseless. I have no idea where he found the anemone. I was told that if he didn't come with an anemone to the LFS that he wouldn't likely find one. HE DID!! I was so happy for the little guy. He comes out for feedings other than that he stays hidden. He used to be out all the time until I added fish to the tank. They're a tad shy to start out with but with time they become more sociable. He's never harmed a fly or should I say pod. =) I've posted on here before inquiring as to what type of anemones they use and got no reply. It's a tiny anemone with a little red center and pinkish purple tentacles. It's about the size of a mini chocolate chip (the anemone) The pom poms are good scavengers, eating leftover food that falls to the bottom. I think he's cute as he sways his anemones in the current. =) I was told/ and read that they are completely harmless to reefs.
 
I just fished my second Emerald (of 3) out of my 180g Reef Tank and put him in my 55g (LR and one grouper), I couldn't stand them anymore, stealing food from everybody and being like elephants in a china shop....
The hermits are terrible aswell, assasinating the poor snails and my conchs are disappearing too, from six down to 4 empty shells and two suvivors.
Oh boy do I wish I knew then what I know now.....Would have note gotten the blue legged, the emeralds, the urchins, the big mexican snails, the horse shoe and maybe not even the serpent stars....
Live and learn
 
SALTFISHLOVER, WELCOME TO REEF FRONTIERS!!

:D Sorry if I had missed ya. I'm glad you've joined us as well!
 
He just holds the anemone. It's peculiar how it stays alive. If you watch them they sway their claws back and forth and the anemone is able to get food that way. It's so cool to watch them. I haven't had any trouble with my emrald yet. He's still shy, but I do agree with the "elephants in a china shop". He is rather clumsy. Took care of my hair algae though, so I'll pardon him for the time being =) What didn't you like about the horseshoe SpeckledGrouper?? I don't know too much about them. I think my conch is the best addition to my tank (in regards of cleaners). It stays so clean on the bottom due to him.
 
Against many recommendations I wanted a small horse shoe crab, I felt it could be beneficial for the sand bed, but I was invisioning one the size of a quarter. At the LFS about a month ago I asked if they had any horse shoe crabs. The guy said he would check and then said he found me one. I didn't really pay attention because I trust him. When I got home I noticed that this was not a "quarter sized" horse shoe crab, but about 3 inches in diameter! It is a bull dozer! It runs over everything on the sand and I am desperately trying to keep it fed. Last night he got stuck on the side of the tank under a rock where I couldn't reach to free him. I had already accepted the fact that he was going to have to die there, don't ask me how he got free.... I will not be able to put anything on the sand bed until he's gone, he will just run everything over. I am contemplating of bringing him back and either trading for a smaller one or none at all.
Oh, BTW, the last remaining emerald had the nerve to bite me tonight when I reached in there to pick up a new mushroom that had fallen because it wasn't attached. All I can say, it didn't hurt half as much as when a rather large blue crab decided that my index finger was the way out of the pot of boiling water.......:)
 
I originally bought 2 blue legs, use to see them all the time but haven't seen them for a long time. The other day I saw a couple of blue legs laying on the DSB. If blue legged crabs are so mean, what would take them out? I have several small nass, astrea, turbo's. Before they dissappeared I never saw them picking on the other guys.

Kathy
 
I've tried several different hermits, the only ones I have yet to have any trouble from are the scarlet reef hermits...they are now the only species of hermit in my tank (I have 3 of them). my wife and kid like them more than anything in the tank, so I really hope the behave themselves...

MikeS
 
Eeeee-gads
After reading about the devilish blue legged hermits, I went looking for the little dudes last night with my magnifying glass.
Guess what I saw???? You got it, blue legs sticking out from underneath the shell of my tequilla snail! That's just wrong !!!
Thanks for the thread guys, I probably would not have figured out what was going on otherwise, would have been confused, dumbfounded, scratching my head about why my snail had blue legs !!!!
Keep those interesting and informative tid-bits coming.
 
It's funny though, cause at first my blue legs just ate algae off of the rocks as if to lull me into a false sense of security. Then they do a sort of lent period for a month to appear as innocent little cuties. They give up meat. I can just see a little blue legged hermit marking the days on the back of some rock. "ok only 2 weeks to go" =) After that, it's a free for all feast and no little thing stands a chance! It's funny though cause after you get them and see how they eat algae, you don't think about them again..... At least until things start disappearing. I agree. They must be EVIL!!! Blue Legged hermits are the devil... (waterboy) =)
 
I had problems with my blue legs feasting on my yellow polyps...fortunately, my LFS was more than happy to exchange them for scarlets...which I have had absolutely no problems with. I currently only have 3 of them in my 55, and there is plenty of scraps and stuff for them to eat. I think this may help keep them away from my corals.

MikeS
 
So.... When I got home today, my emrald was hugging my stylo... Not sure what he was doing to it.... Better not eat it... Or his stay with me will be short... He'll go to the exile tank... It's full of evil hermits... lol... =)
 
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