New Hermit Species in the 75 Gallon and Update

Gangrene · Post by **Gangrene** » Wed Feb 05, 2020 8:23 am

So I found a new hermit species at the local pet shop... another random catch! I think it is a Long-Wristed Hermit Crab. It's REALLY fast and hyper... a very interesting addition and it doesn't seem shy at all. Very different in behavior and morphology(long curved and thin legs) than any other hermit I've had. Also that white color really makes him stand out. That makes it the 8th Hermit species in the 75 gallon enclosure. I'm still going to get a blue knuckle hermit in the future... no doubt. I ordered that and polka dot hermit crab, but they weren't available so they didn't ship. Maybe next time... Here's the new guy. I'll try to get a better picture later.

On a side note, my Thin Striped Hermit is still getting bigger and I put in 10 new large shells into the enclosure and 25 additional small shells. He's loving the new large shells. He's popping on a new shell every other day and strutting around the tank like he's running fashion week. He's a diva and he's also the boss, although the halloween hermit is also pretty sizable and could also be a boss. The halloween hermit really likes conch shells though... so they have quite different tastes.

Couple recent shots of the Halloween Hermit. I really like the 2nd pic.

Here's a shot of the last guy to get added into the mix... The Green or Hidden Hermit... apparently from Hawaii. Seems he likes to climb and only goes to the ground to go house hunting.

On a final note the 2 Scarlet Hermits also seem to be doing well. They are by FAR the hardest species of hermit I've tried keeping. I think I've finally gotten the husbandry right... or the acclimation to a new enclosure. I think they are more sensitive to change than most hermit crabs... Here is a semi recent pic of one of them.

If anyone would like to see any other pics or video of the enclosure let me know. I have a lot more video than pictures. I could show the whole enclosure and all 8 species of hermit crabs. I also have at least 3 species of crabs and 2 species of shrimp in there as well... not to mention the many species of snails, corals and other animals.

RiNiKy506 · Post by **RiNiKy506** » Wed Feb 05, 2020 8:38 am

They’re so cool! I’m becoming so interested in the aquatic hermit crabs, I’ve never had a salt water tank before. I think most of them are salt water? I couldn’t even keep a small tank of guppies! Also why I hesitated so long to do the bioactive pools in my 120, just scared of not having proper water parameters and hurting them. I’d love to see your tanks and other critters!

Post by **curlysister** » Wed Feb 05, 2020 10:27 am

Oh wow, these are very cool! Am I correct that these are 'marine' hermit crabs, where the PP's (etc) that most of us have are 'land' hermit crabs?

Post by **aussieJJDude** » Wed Feb 05, 2020 2:35 pm

Awesome crabs! The halloween hermies aee really prrtty, abd look like they can grow rather large!

curlysister wrote:Oh wow, these are very cool! Am I correct that these are 'marine' hermit crabs, where the PP's (etc) that most of us have are 'land' hermit crabs?

Yes, these are all marine hermies.

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Post by **curlysister** » Wed Feb 05, 2020 2:43 pm

I literally know nobody who owns marine crabs. Very neat to see them! Thanks for the photos G!

Overmountain1 · Post by **Overmountain1** » Wed Feb 05, 2020 2:44 pm

So awesome! I am also getting more and more intrigued by the aquatic guys! There are just so many varieties and they are so cool looking with their long thin limbs (mostly!) That is a future interest though for me!
I think they’re all beautiful! Thanks for sharing, and if you have a link or can post the video of them all I know I would love to watch!

Dave the Wondercrab~ Pat~Billy~Pop~Corn~Ten~Sam~Tim~
Gene~ Barry~New Kid~Mr S~Princess~ Red Ryder + 5 Es + Mr EnDoh =my crabby clan!

angelbear · Post by **angelbear** » Wed Feb 05, 2020 6:54 pm

Wow so cool.

CrabbyLover77 · Post by **CrabbyLover77** » Wed Feb 05, 2020 11:46 pm

Gangrene wrote:So I found a new hermit species at the local pet shop... another random catch! I think it is a Long-Wristed Hermit Crab. It's REALLY fast and hyper... a very interesting addition and it doesn't seem shy at all. Very different in behavior and morphology(long curved and thin legs) than any other hermit I've had. Also that white color really makes him stand out. That makes it the 8th Hermit species in the 75 gallon enclosure. I'm still going to get a blue knuckle hermit in the future... no doubt. I ordered that and polka dot hermit crab, but they weren't available so they didn't ship. Maybe next time... Here's the new guy. I'll try to get a better picture later.

On a side note, my Thin Striped Hermit is still getting bigger and I put in 10 new large shells into the enclosure and 25 additional small shells. He's loving the new large shells. He's popping on a new shell every other day and strutting around the tank like he's running fashion week. He's a diva and he's also the boss, although the halloween hermit is also pretty sizable and could also be a boss. The halloween hermit really likes conch shells though... so they have quite different tastes.

Couple recent shots of the Halloween Hermit. I really like the 2nd pic.

Here's a shot of the last guy to get added into the mix... The Green or Hidden Hermit... apparently from Hawaii. Seems he likes to climb and only goes to the ground to go house hunting.

On a final note the 2 Scarlet Hermits also seem to be doing well. They are by FAR the hardest species of hermit I've tried keeping. I think I've finally gotten the husbandry right... or the acclimation to a new enclosure. I think they are more sensitive to change than most hermit crabs... Here is a semi recent pic of one of them.

If anyone would like to see any other pics or video of the enclosure let me know. I have a lot more video than pictures. I could show the whole enclosure and all 8 species of hermit crabs. I also have at least 3 species of crabs and 2 species of shrimp in there as well... not to mention the many species of snails, corals and other animals.

Love your hermies! Especially the Halloween one.

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Post by **wodesorel** » Thu Feb 06, 2020 2:22 am

How are they doing being housed together? I know there are usually warnings about housing certain species communally because they are so quick to get territorial and cannibalistic.

Do you have fish and other living corals with them? Have they been destructive?

Gangrene · Post by **Gangrene** » Thu Feb 06, 2020 9:53 pm

wodesorel wrote:How are they doing being housed together? I know there are usually warnings about housing certain species communally because they are so quick to get territorial and cannibalistic.

Do you have fish and other living corals with them? Have they been destructive?

I've not had one issue with the hermits getting along. As far as I know they're all reef safe and they're working out well.

I do have 2 dangerous gorilla crabs, but they are down in the refugium where they can't cause any issues with anyone else. I took them in to keep them from being euthanized... plus they are interesting and almost no one has them because they are such potent predators.

I currently have 9 fish in there with the hermits and 13 coral colonies. I've not had any issues with destruction... large snails can move frags around more. I have had the crabs sometimes try to steal food from the corals, but if you feed the hermits first that helps eliminate that issue.

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Gangrene · Post by **Gangrene** » Thu Feb 06, 2020 10:04 pm

RiNiKy506 wrote:They’re so cool! I’m becoming so interested in the aquatic hermit crabs, I’ve never had a salt water tank before. I think most of them are salt water? I couldn’t even keep a small tank of guppies! Also why I hesitated so long to do the bioactive pools in my 120, just scared of not having proper water parameters and hurting them. I’d love to see your tanks and other critters!

Yeah, they're all saltwater... I currently have two tank setups... my 37 and the 75 display with a 29 gallon sump/refugium. Both tanks house hermits. I could guide you how to be very successful with minimal maintenance, but the up front costs are pretty high. I'm not gonna lie about that. I build it to be a self sustaining / self cleaning complete ecosystem. All I do is feed them pretty much... and add a few minimal supplements. Saltwater is actually simpler than freshwater if you do it right as the nitrogen cycle can be completed in saltwater removing the need for water changes. I've never done a water change in my 75.

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Gangrene · Post by **Gangrene** » Thu Feb 06, 2020 10:10 pm

curlysister wrote:Oh wow, these are very cool! Am I correct that these are 'marine' hermit crabs, where the PP's (etc) that most of us have are 'land' hermit crabs?

Yeah, these are all aquatic saltwater hermit crabs. I think it's simpler and easier to setup and care for than land hermits. My tanks are pretty much hands off except feeding. I'm assuming land hermits require constant maintenance to keep the habitat clean and free of mold, the humidity correct, have both fresh and saltwater available. None of that has to be done with marine hermits. My aquariums are pretty humid.

I have a cleanup crew of hundreds of animals that clean the tank and the bacteria and algea keep the water clean and pristine.

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Gangrene · Post by **Gangrene** » Thu Feb 06, 2020 10:19 pm

angelbear wrote:Wow so cool.

Thanks.

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RiNiKy506 · Post by **RiNiKy506** » Fri Feb 07, 2020 4:51 pm

Gangrene wrote:
Yeah, they're all saltwater... I currently have two tank setups... my 37 and the 75 display with a 29 gallon sump/refugium. Both tanks house hermits. I could guide you how to be very successful with minimal maintenance, but the up front costs are pretty high. I'm not gonna lie about that. I build it to be a self sustaining / self cleaning complete ecosystem. All I do is feed them pretty much... and add a few minimal supplements. Saltwater is actually simpler than freshwater if you do it right as the nitrogen cycle can be completed in saltwater removing the need for water changes. I've never done a water change in my 75.

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That is awesome! I’d love to do it someday. We moved into our house about 6 months ago and we’ve been talking about setting up a salt water tank, where to put one. I have a 30 gallon with a stand that I’d like to use for salt. Would that be big enough for marine hermits? I don’t know anything about them. I’d take any tips you want to share.

That would be great.

Gangrene · Post by **Gangrene** » Fri May 15, 2020 11:36 pm

RiNiKy506 wrote: That is awesome! I’d love to do it someday. We moved into our house about 6 months ago and we’ve been talking about setting up a salt water tank, where to put one. I have a 30 gallon with a stand that I’d like to use for salt. Would that be big enough for marine hermits? I don’t know anything about them. I’d take any tips you want to share. That would be great.

30 gallons... You could definitely get several in there. If you have any questions let me know.

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HCA: Hermit Crab Association