[crox99]

Quote: Originally Posted by marki24 If you have enough shells you will not have that problem.

I have plenty of empty shells in my tank but guess what.......my hermits are always looking to get a bigger shell

[cybermeez]

I'll bet money that it's a lack of appropriate sized shells. Hermits do grow and if a crab sees a shell it thinks it might like it will kill the snail just so it can try it on and see if it fits right. If it doesn't, you've got a dead snail and a hermit back out house hunting.

I got a bunch of nice shells for a few bucks forn The Hermit Crab Shack on eBay and put a few dozen of various sizes in the tank. I then spent the next hour watching one little crab try on 10-15 shells before he found the one that he felt fit him best. It was a cool thing to see. By the end of the week all the hermits in my tank had traded in their old shells for one of the new ones. They seemed to like the "Gold Nugget" ones the best.

[reefman]

i once saw a hermit stick up a snail for its shell. it got out n took the snail's shell only to find out its too small for its liking, then tries to go back to its own shell but another hermit stole it already.