Hermits

How many "spare" shells should I keep in my tank for Hermits? I have 5 red leg and 5 blue legs. I did not think about this until after a trip to the beach. I found some cool shells (mostly augers) and thought what the heck I will clean them and toss them in. Within a day it seemed like all the blue legs "moved it on up" to the new shells. The red legs have looked at but not moved in yet. I am fortunate to live on the Gulf of Mexico near Clearwater Beach so shells are easy to come by.

Thanks in advance for any input.

Tony G

 

i try to keep 1 or 2 extra per crab. Noticed the other day that bristle worms were moving into the unused shells. Hermits won't occupy a shell that had a bristle worm in it though.

 

+1 with the shell amounts, BUT be sure to boil anything you get from the beach... You never know what critters or diseases you could wind up adding

 

I boill everything because I am thinking better off safe then sorry. This is great. I reason to walk the beach and collect shells. It may never stop feeling good. What a great hobby!!

We have found some sand crabs in the past as well. Can I use them??

 

You could use them, but i dont know how they will fair and also the possibility of contaminating is a risk... If you do, I would at least quarantine them for a few weeks and see if they will survive... But like I said it may be a risk of health and safety

 

Good point! thanks +}1 for saving me.