Hermit death

Ive had 5 hermits die in the last 48 hrs, water tests great, nothing else seems affected, but hermits are still dying. Could my thre stripe damsel or my camel shrimp be killing them? any ideas? could it be theyre out growing their shells?(if thats possible)

 

They could be molts that you are seeing.

 

could you elaborate or point me to a thread? im pretty sure theyre dying but my shrimp has molted twice in two weeks and that threw me for a loop at first. thank you

 

the hermits will do the same thing. the molt will look identical to the actual hermit. and yea , if its amolt, theyre growing and eventually may need larger shells

 

ya, they probably are growing and shedding, i have one that is about 200% bigger than when i bought it, when it happened with my cleaner shrimp and my hermit crab ( which was the same time, same day) I thought they had died, but then a day or so later, the hermit showed its face, the shrimp was out and about right after, so thats how I knew what happened, but the hermit scared me, cause it took a couple of days to show.
Go to your LFS, or dollar store and buy some larger shells, but try to buy ones with the same twist on the shell that they are in now. Hermits are picky and they need shells with the same twist or there will be no taking it over. Good luck

 

Be sure to clean the shells before putting them in the tank. There is a specific procedure to do this but I can not remember what it is..... I think it starts with unscented bleach. Someone with more knowledge please jump in here.

 

If they are dying it could be there food source in no longer present in your tank! Many have to replenish their CUC every so often...