Red tip / Scarlet Hermit Crabs

[jpadman]

If anyone has experience w/ Red Tip Hermit & Scarlet crabs. I bought an algae cleaner package 10 scarlets/35 dwarf red tips/2 abalone snails and 20 margarita snails approx 3 weeks ago for my 55 gallon F.O.W.L.R. The critters have done a nice job cleaning the hair algae/film algae.The only trouble is every 2-3 days I find a crab out of the shell / dead with no sign of the shell.Possibly in back of tank in rocks where I can't see.These are my water parameters spc grav 1.024/amm=0/nitrite=0/nitrate<10ppm/calcium=460ppm/Dkh=9.8/Temp=78deg.I have added more empty shells into the tank for growth.Any Help or suggestions greatly appreciated.thanx in advance!

 

[MikeS]

Hi there

More than likey most of what you are seeing is the shed exoskeleton of one of the crabs, not the crab itself. Once the crab sheds, it will go hide out for a few days while the new exoskeleton hardens.

With that many crabs in a 55, however, you may see some mortality due to fights over shells, competition for available food, ect. Antother concern with that many crabs in a 55 if you ever decide to add coral to your tank would be thier "less than picky" nature when it comes to food sources. Likely not a problem as much in a FOWLR setup, but could be trouble if corals are introduced later...

hope this helps...

MikeS