Does Everything In A Fish Tank Molt?

[lgarvey]

Hi,

One of my hermit crabs has gone AWOL. All I can see is an empty shell, and then I noticed to feet kicking about. Either: -

1. he's left his shell to molt

2. he's been killed - probably by the Emrald as that is the only thing really fiesty, and big enough, to commit murder (which gets me thinking he's not suited to a small nano tank, but let's see).

I am going to get a few more larger shells and scatter them just in case he makes a re-appearance!

L

 

[-Nemo-]

All Arthropods molt. So in aquariums that most commonly includes Shrimp, hermits and crabs.
Hope he shows up

 

[lgarvey]

All Arthropods molt. So in aquariums that most commonly includes Shrimp, hermits and crabs.
Hope he shows up

Yep. Fingers crossed. If he is molting, then that's 3/4 of the tanks Arthropods that have moulted in the 4 weeks they've been in the tank.

 

[Donya]

Yep. Fingers crossed. If he is molting, then that's 3/4 of the tanks Arthropods that have moulted in the 4 weeks they've been in the tank.

It's not unusual for Crustaceans molt soon after introduction into a new environment. However, if it stays missing...

One of my hermit crabs has gone AWOL. All I can see is an empty shell, and then I noticed to feet kicking about. Either: -

1. he's left his shell to molt

2. he's been killed - probably by the Emrald as that is the only thing really fiesty, and big enough, to commit murder (which gets me thinking he's not suited to a small nano tank, but let's see).

If the hermit doesn't turn up, there's also a possibility 3: the hermit left its shell to molt and got had by a predator. Crabs (and other larger hermits for that matter) can be rather opportunistic about when they attack hermits. When a hermit leaves its shell to molt, it should either be right back into the same shell pretty fast or right into another empty one within a few minutes of molting. Additionally, hermits remain somewhat soft for a while even after they return to a shell, at which point they can still be a sitting duck for many other crabs and larger hermits if the shell is too small to provide enough protection.