Popular Algae Eating Hermit Crabs

Popular Algae Eating Hermit Crabs

• The Blue Legged Hermit (Clibanarius tricolor), as well as other similar species are quite popular, but some such as the Anomura sp. will kill Astraea snails to obtain their shells.
• The Red Legged Hermit (Clibanarius digueti) is said by some to be a much better algae eater than the Blue Legged Hermit, less aggressive, and has been reported to eat red slime algae.
• Aside from eating algae, the golf ball sized Blue Eyed Hermit (Paguristes erythrops) spends its time stirring up the top layer of substrate of the aquarium.
• The Scarlet Hermit Crab (Paguristes cadenanti) is one of the most popular hermits with reef keepers, because of its colorful appearance, and because it will eat all kinds of algae, such as red, green and brown slimes, as well as green hair algae.

Large species such as the Anemone Carrying Hermit (Dardanus pedunculatus), Yellow Hairy Hermit (Aniculus maximus) and Cone Shell Hermit (Trizopagurus strigatus) are undesirable as reef janitors, as they may cause unwanted damage to your reef system. These types of hermits can disrupt tank life by climbing on everything, and because of the large clumsy, bulky shells they live in, cause the toppling of rockscape arrangements and the moving of corals. Besides, they may attack or eat other tank inhabitants. If you desire to keep large hermit crabs, do so only in a tank of suitable environment and size, and remember they will outgrow their shells. You need to provide them with new housing (larger shells) as they molt and grow, otherwise they may attack other shelled animals to get a new shell. One commonly imported species that has this trait is the Clibanarius vittatus, most often sold as the Striped Hermit Crab.

wow...but they cant like eat algae on the walls of tanks rite???

Hermit crabs can't climb up the glass but sea urchin can.

Originally Posted by Maculosus

Hermit crabs can't climb up the glass but sea urchin can.

Still better to use snails compare to Hermit crabs. They can go everywhere..
plus snails doesn't kill each other for the shell.. Unlike hermit which will kill snails for their shell.

how do they kill??

Originally Posted by aroXIAO

how do they kill??

i never see it b4 with my own eye..but it should be that the hermit will attack the snail by topping them upside down first then attack the vulnerable snail bottom soft body portion. Then the hermit will climb out from his current existing shell and occupy the new shell.

I hate hermit crabs... still prefer Turbo Snails... hehe..

but arent snails a little not nice looking>?

Originally Posted by aroXIAO

but arent snails a little not nice looking>?

They are suppose to help to clean the algae and most of the time, they will help to clean the tank without you noticing them that they are around. Try to get cerite snails if u think the normal big snail are ugly.. They are small and hardly noticeable..

[Limsteel]

Originally Posted by DaY1

They are suppose to help to clean the algae and most of the time, they will help to clean the tank without you noticing them that they are around. Try to get cerite snails if u think the normal big snail are ugly.. They are small and hardly noticeable..

But I read that Snail only eat those newly grown algae, full grown algae are left alone...

Anyway Where selling? I wanna small small snail for my 1½ft Nano.