Hermit Crabs

[carfag]

What are the requirements for breeding blue legged hermit crabs?

[JamezC]

A sling-shot.

:uplaugh::toofunny:

Seriously - you don't want to; they are not a desired critter.

[carfag]

Really?!?!
I was under the impression that they were used in standard clean up crews....

[Mugster]

Really?!?!
I was under the impression that they were used in standard clean up crews....


Do a search on here for "blue legged hermits" and you'll soon find out why they're not a preferred clean-up crew addition. Snails do a much better job and won't kill your other cleaning critters for their shells.



:hi1:

[jgillard]

I had some but got rid of them in favor of snails.

[kgolem]

On the other hand...

It depends on what other livestock you have and what you are feeding.

I have a snowflake eel that is a messy eater and leaves bits of krill when it eats, I also feed the leftover bits to my Bubble Tip Anemone, and sometimes the pieces miss the target.

My hermit crabs do an excellent job of cleaning up the meaty bits that snails won't or can't touch.

IMO, in some instances there is room for both snails and crabs.

[JamezC]

Nassarius vibex snails indeed will gladly eat chunks of meat in addition to detritus, etc. - and won't hunt your other critters. When you feed the tank it's sooooooo cool to see them 'elevate' themselves out of the sandbed and go looking for the food.

Anything crabs can do; snails can and WILL do better. :D

Hermits are evil little buggers (being PG here). ;)

[carfag]

Well... i will def. be switching to snails...
i just have always enjoyed watching my hawk go at them

[kgolem]

Back on topic...

It is tough to tell the male from the female hermit crab... That being said, the female usually molts just prior to freely releasing the eggs, the male releases and attaches packets of sperm to the females abdomen and the female then attaches the released eggs to her own abdomen where fertilization occurs. The preceding activity may take weeks or months to occur from start to finish. Gestation time of the eggs varies from a period of a few weeks to up to a year. During this time the female tends the eggs by cleaning and fanning water over them.

I paraphrased this from an email posted to a public forum where reproduction of original material is explicitly denied.

Understanding that this doesn't answer the original question of requirements for the propagation of Hermit Crabs, but this may help you to recognize the symptoms if and when they occur.

:thumbsup: good luck :thumbsup: