Purpose of Hermit Crab

[noirsphynx]

Originally Posted by paddyob

I use hermits. They are scavengers.

Anyone who does not properly mount frags in their tank to prevent falling is at fault.. not the hermits.

If a fish dies in your tank... give it a couple days and its gone. I do not plan to remove all my rocks to remove a dead and burried fish. Hermits make a quick meal of it.

They pick up food from the sand bed and some will help with algaes.

Avoid the zebra legs as they are the ones that do most of the coral climbing.

I would not be without. Ever. I could care less if I lose a couple to fighting. In most cases they fight over shells, and if a reefer takes that into account and provides "extra" shells for the growing hermits to utilize then you can reduce the crab fights. For $1.50 each... get them.

+1, my reef won't ever be without hermits. I think I have about 9 different species in my tank.

[reefme]

One more question. Will they scare fish at night like sand sifter goby and wrasse during their sleep?

[jorjef]

Originally Posted by reefme

One more question. Will they scare fish at night like sand sifter goby and wrasse during their sleep?

It's kind of like asking "does your dog bite?" maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day he will. Crabs are jackals, they will take what they can when ever they can get it. I hate crabs lol

[troni]

yes they will when roaming around they might bump them or fall on them from the overhang.

[Snaz]

Crabs and other crawlies help remove detrius from coral that is not able to do so on their own just by walking over them.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog...ers-the-better

[jorjef]

Originally Posted by Snaz

Crabs and other crawlies help remove detrius from coral that is not able to do so on their own just by walking over them.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog...ers-the-better

With all due respect isn't he talking about corals in the wild? I don't think we are in jeopardy of having our corals buried in sediment anytime soon. That being said we should all join together and have all crabs shipped back to the ocean where they can perform the important task of keeping our future corals safe.

[reefme]

Beside crabs eat dead fish what else eats dead fish?