Hermitt Crab

[pookie]

I recently bought 2 red and 2 blue herrmit crabs fro my nano tank. I have lost one blue and one red in a 2 weeks adn I have no idea why. The others are fine adn so is my cleaner shrimp. My 2 fish are ok as well. All my levels are also easily acceptable.

Does anyone have any ideas why this could be happening.

Thanks

Pat

 

[ox5477]

Do you find their body? And is it eaten out on one end? Then that is their molt... which all inverts with an exoskeleton do. Thats how they grow. And they usually hide for a day or two after the molt as they need to let their new exoskeleton harden.

If you can't find them... then they may have been eaten by a carnivorous crab that hitch-hiked on your lr... but I would expect more than four hermits to dissappear in 2 weeks if they have easy and slow pray like hermits to feast on....

Ox

 

[pookie]

Do you find their body? And is it eaten out on one end? Then that is their molt... which all inverts with an exoskeleton do. Thats how they grow. And they usually hide for a day or two after the molt as they need to let their new exoskeleton harden.

If you can't find them... then they may have been eaten by a carnivorous crab that hitch-hiked on your lr... but I would expect more than four hermits to dissappear in 2 weeks if they have easy and slow pray like hermits to feast on....

Ox

It does look like it molted to be honest and I would expect it to be ok then as there is nothing carnivorous in the tank. To they go back to there shell or hide in a safe little cove or hole?

 

[ox5477]

Well just cause you see nothing carnivorous... doesn't mean that their isn't some little hitch-hikers that only come out at night...

Glad to hear it looks like a molt... ya they will just hide in their shell, moving only sparingly over the next day or two and will try and find a secluded spot in the tank so no curious fish comes along and tries to take a nibble...

Ox