Extra Shells for hermits?

ive heard that its a good idea to have some empty spare shells in the tank because hermit crabs like to move in to them. Is this true? If so how many should i have in my 14 gallon and 29 gallon tank?

 

Yep, they need empty shells to move into when they get too big for their current shell, or if they just need a change of scenery. I have 4 hermit crabs and have about 10 or so empty shells in my tank. I don't know how many you need, but a lot of choice for them is good, because they will search for the perfect shell until they find it.

If you have snails, the crabs will kill them for their shells if you don't have empty ones laying around.

 

How many shells you need is related to how many hermit crabs you have. John Maloney could probably give you a good idea of how many shells you need based on the number of crabs that you have/plan.

Here's a pick of the hermit crab shells that John sent me today. I paid for 50 but I think there may be about 200 there.

 

cool. i am going to get a bigger clean up crew from reef cleaners and i think ill order some empty shells.

 

i am ordering nine blue legs, so how many empty shells should i order?

 

I like to have two shells per crab, but that's my personal opinion. I don't know if there is a set number. I just like the crabs to have plenty of options so they won't kill my snails.

 

You can't have too many shells. Shells that are not occupied by crabs will be used as breeding grounds for copepods. I keep as many shells as I can on the sand without it being an eye sore.

 

my 10 crabs cycle through id say 20 or so shells in my tank.. the only thing i noticed is the smallest shells are no longer touched due to them growing, so i just pull those out, or leave em.