HCA: Hermit Crab Association

So I got my 29g BioCube set up earlier in the week. I have about 30lbs of live rock, a few coral frags and a 'Pink-Tip' Sea Anemone, and two Blue Damsels. I have a really cool 'Sally Light Foot' crab, but he/she WILL NOT let me near him/her with a camera lens, so I'll have to get back to ya with pics of him/her (prob gonna call it Sally for obvious reasons, so we'll just go with 'her' lol) I will be adding more after my first Nitrate cycle, so I'll keep you all updated with any new additions.

Below are much requested/anticipated pics of two of my MHC! (I have 2 Scarlet MHC, 2 Blue Legged, and 6 reef crabs) for now-

Scarlet Marine Hermit Crab






Blue Legged Marine Hermit Crab (gorgeous!) sitting on top or Scarlet MHC & reef crab


you can see in this pic that there are actually 3 MHC, the little one on the bottom is a reef crab (just turned where I can't get a pic)


Tank pic with Damsels & Sea Anemone




and this one is for Wodesorel

Wow that looks amazing! Congrats on the new set up!

ooooooooooh, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Look beautiful! Love the colors on those MHCs.

those marine hermies are sooo cute!

Love your rockscape.

Your blue legged hermits are so much bigger than mine! Mine wouldn't even fill up half my pinky nail.

WOW! That tank is FANTASTIC. Very very jealous!

Wonderful photographs! Trying to get photos that nice through glass and water is tough. I'm really impressed.

(And EEEE Kitty!! He looks like a skinny version of my Bubbies!)

I so want this

wodesorel wrote:WOW! That tank is FANTASTIC. Very very jealous!

Wonderful photographs! Trying to get photos that nice through glass and water is tough. I'm really impressed.

(And EEEE Kitty!! He looks like a skinny version of my Bubbies!)

Thanks Wode, I wish I could take the quality photos Wolf takes (Shout out to @wolfnipplechips) Nevertheless, I do pat myself on the back for those pics, I had some pretty impressive subjects though.

That is my baby boy 'Tin-Man' a.k.a. 'MiMi' a.k.a 'Lover' a.k.a 'Fatty' a.k.a 'CAT!' (when he's in trouble) and he is the love of my life second to my two legged family members. I knew you'd get a kick out of that picture!

P.S. I'm also pretty sure that's the first time he's been refered to as 'skinny', lol, he'll be flattered

kuza wrote:I so want this

Thanks Kuza, it has been an exciting couple of weeks. I am really enjoying the salt water hermits. I just got a new one yesterday and I am waiting for him to put on a good show for some good pictures. When he does, I'll post some and then you will really want to sell a body organ for a SW reef!
Also I put in an order for some 'Halloween' hermit crabs and those should be here in a couple of weeks. I'll keep everyone posted with those.

Wow! How hard was it to set up? Does that kind of tank make it more user friendly? It really is beautiful... I'd love to have one in the future.

hermitmommy wrote:Wow! How hard was it to set up? Does that kind of tank make it more user friendly? It really is beautiful... I'd love to have one in the future.

Well.. It is a HUGE expense financially. I already have over $1000 invested and I've only had it for two weeks Fortunately, the largest cost is the upfront cost of the tank and reef setup. I began with 30lbs of live sand, 30lbs of live reef rock and of course the salt water which is a tricky task in itself. The tank has to run for about a week so that the nitrate/ammonia levels have a chance to settle before any aquatic life can be introduced to the tank. Too much or too little, Nitrate, Amonia, PH, Bacteria, or NaCl (Salt), can kill your entire reef and inhabitants. I find this especially interesting because the Ocean is a sustainable body of water and it takes me weeks to replicate it in a 29 gallon tank! I also spent hours adjusting the protein skimmer, and filtration system, and I added a 'wave maker' to circulate the water for the Anemone. I have plans for so much more, but it takes another month for the reef to 'bloom' at which point I can add more corals and FISH! The tank itself is a 29 gallon BioCube which is self contained with a built in sump. The overhead lighting is reef compatible with built in LED's for night glow on the reef. It's most beautiful in the dark with the LEDs on because a lot of my live rock glows! As I mentioned, I added a Tunze 9002 protein skimmer, and a 'medibasket' in lou of bio balls.

If at any point you decide to start one, just shoot me a PM and I'll give whatever guidance I can. Although I thinks it's really just a learning curve, as is most hobby.

Yikes- That's steep. Steep $$$ and steep learning curve Sounds wonderful. I think I'll just experience it vicariously through your pics for now. Just got the hubby to agree to a 55 g crabitat, so I won't be starting anything else anytime soon. But I LOVE your pics. Keep them coming. It will be great to see the tank at each of these stages.

I had really wanted to ask how much you had put it into it, but I didn't want to come across as being too nosey. I knew it was going to be up there, but that number is quite shocking! Still, it's going to be a joy to watch and observe for years to come. They are certainly worth the cost if you can afford it, and I would love to have a sustainable eco-friendly salt-water tank if I ever had the chance.

hermitmommy wrote:Yikes- That's steep. Steep $$$ and steep learning curve Sounds wonderful. I think I'll just experience it vicariously through your pics for now. Just got the hubby to agree to a 55 g crabitat, so I won't be starting anything else anytime soon. But I LOVE your pics. Keep them coming. It will be great to see the tank at each of these stages.

I will absolutely be adding pictures. I enjoy sharing them with everyone. LHC are my favorite, but the colors on the MHC are spectacular! Thanks hermitmommy