to crab or not to crab...that is the question
- Thread starter AlexS!
- Start date
I love my scarlet hermits - I've never seen them do any wrong - they're neat to watch, just make sure you get plenty of grow out shells for them or they will kill off your snails looking for a new home. There are red legs and scarlets - I've read that the red legs are a bit meaner than the scarlets. I think the most visible difference between them is that the scarlets have yellow eye stalks - but do your research to be sure.
My blue legs - tiny little guys, thought they were cute and supposedly good for hair algae - all they are good for is murdering snails - rotten little things. They even killed my little nassarius whose shells are much too small for them to fit into, so it was just for the fun of it. I've seen them on the back of a snail on the glass pulling and trying to get him to fall. I need to find something that will eat them and leave my scarlets alone
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My blue legs - tiny little guys, thought they were cute and supposedly good for hair algae - all they are good for is murdering snails - rotten little things. They even killed my little nassarius whose shells are much too small for them to fit into, so it was just for the fun of it. I've seen them on the back of a snail on the glass pulling and trying to get him to fall. I need to find something that will eat them and leave my scarlets alone
A piggy-back on Tangirl's post and recommendation to get grow out shells:
I agree completely, and suggest you look elsewhere besides the LFS for the shells. They may charge you $0.50 apiece for them. Go to a craft store, like Michael's or Waccamaw, etc. and ask where they keep their bags of seashells. You'll find a small bag full of a variety of shapes and sizes for just over $1. Make sure they're not the dyed ones and you're fine.
I agree completely, and suggest you look elsewhere besides the LFS for the shells. They may charge you $0.50 apiece for them. Go to a craft store, like Michael's or Waccamaw, etc. and ask where they keep their bags of seashells. You'll find a small bag full of a variety of shapes and sizes for just over $1. Make sure they're not the dyed ones and you're fine.
I have crabs, and they do some good, a little harm, and are neat to watch. Everyone either recommends a ridicoulous 2 crab / gallon or none at all, which I think is silly. Get a few, if you want more, get more (I know you lose a little with bulk deals this way, but better than getting 100+ crabs and deciding to take them all back).
My emeralds do eat macroalgea (which I still have to prune manually every week), and occasionally pick at corals, doing little damgage. Hermits never bothered anything but snails.
My emeralds do eat macroalgea (which I still have to prune manually every week), and occasionally pick at corals, doing little damgage. Hermits never bothered anything but snails.
I just asked essentially this same question at Reef Central of Dr Ron Shimek with regards to Deep Sand Beds (DSB's). For a DSB, he recommends no more crabs than one per 100 to 1000 ft^2 of surface area in your tank. The thread is located here: http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=36381
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