hermit crab torn apart...

[dadstank]

alright, in my tank (55 gallons) i have a damsel, a psuedo, and a convict blenny. i just found my damsel chewing on something that looked like plastic. looking closer i realized it was a piece of something. then my girlfriend noticed a red hermit crab claw on a rock about in the center of the tank. after searching the tank we found yet another piece (could have been the rest of it...) slightly center, yet almost under the powerhead.

is it possible for a hermit crab to get sucked out of a shell by a powerhead and get a bad beating and blown out the other end of the powerhead?

 

[WRASSER]

it probably just molted :wink: 8)

 

[Mihai]

Very likely scenario - however, I never saw any fish sucking at the moltings - mine know that they are empty...

I don't think that it was sucked up - it's either molting or dead.
M.

 

[K9coral]

Ive seen my fish pick at moltings. Sometimes eating little bits out of the shell.

 

[WRASSER]

my triggers will eat them, my tusk and dragon wrasse will too. last weekend i was diving at Halover, miami. we found some sallylight foots, the bodies were bigger than a half dollar. they were pretty big sallys. well i thought maybe i could get away with it. nope four triggers, six wrasse and a sailfin tang had a feast. even later when it was almost gone they still chomped on it.

 

[Dewman]

Could be that the fish caught the crab between the molt, and getting back into the shell.
My clown caught a scarlet as he was molting and still soft. There were just pieces stuck to the tenticles of my BTA when I noticed that it wasn't an exoskeleton, it was the REAL DEAL. Upside down, empty shell gave it away.
Poor Crab. I only had one in my nano.
Bad idea taking shelter under an clown/anemone and try to molt under it.