crabs

[gunfish]

i heard that hermit crabs can be tank cleaners? what does it actually do?and what precatiouns should be taken while having them in the tank

[sir_dudeguy]

i prefer NOT to use them as cleaners. First of all they're not as good at cleaning compaired to other things, and what happens is they'll start killing off the snails you have (stuff like ceriths and astreas...stuff that actually DOES clean) for their shells. Some people say that they're fine as long as you put in extra empty shells. I've found that it made no difference. They still went after the snails. Some also say that one hermit is more safe than the other...well that might be, but again, it made no difference for me. I had about 4 different kinds, including the scarlet reef hermits which are supposedly the most safe. In the end, they were all wearing cerith snail shells and i had no ceriths left

Also, i've read in a few books and on the boards that hermits should only be kept 1 per every 10 gallons of water to keep them from killing each other (mine did do that a bit too...mostly the snails tho). Well the problem with that is if you only keep 1 per 10 gallons, there wont be enough of them to clean anything anyways, so it really wouldnt do much good.

If i were you, i'd start off with some cerith snails, astreas, and some nassarius (i dont like turbos much...they're just big bulldozers ) and then go from there on an as-needed basis.

But what sized tank is this? That will tell you how many snails you should shoot for.

[wozza]

My son's girlfreind has crabs.

hahahahahaha.....i bet she will love you for saying that that!!!!

[PurePerfection]

ya thay dont clean much of anything..

[almostdiva]

hermit crabs (both red and blue-legged) are opportunistic omnivores. If they can eat it and it's in your tank, they will. I personally only keep snails and serpent stars for that reason. It's totally a matter of choice. Lots of folks DO keep them. Just know that the possibility is there that they will eat more than just algae if you do choose to keep them.

Good luck!


Rebecca