Guppies!

[ClawedIntoMyHeart]

The other day I was shopping for organic hermit food and I have a couple of questions. Can the hermit crabs catch and eat little feeder fish? Like if I put 1 or 2 in the freshwater pool for them to eat, is that okay to do and will they even be able to catch and eat em or do I need to prepare them? In the wild they eat fish poop and dead fish sooo..... Just curious Thanks! I feed them to my ducks all the time, but those are ducks.. LOL

[soilentgringa]

Someone else who is into fish can shed more light on this, but...some of the treatments used in fish water could potentially make the crabs ill.

[naalide]

Some years ago, I had Guppies in one of my crabitats. It was a flat bowl about 6 gal capacity, which was included in my biggest crabitat. The Guppies breed that fast, that it was to crowded after some month. I court them and transferred them to a 'real' fish-tank.
My hermit crabs never hunted them! They used the sweet-water, but seemed unimpressed by the fishes.

[wodesorel]

Feeder fish (and most of the fish at pet stores) are often loaded with antibiotics and other medication to keep them alive, and they are also known for being full of parasites. Not many reptile communities will recommend them as a food source for this reason. If you're breeding your own and know what they're being exposed to, that's a different story.

[Sweet Pea]

I have a ten gallon tank inside my crabitat. It has guppies and a beta. So far the hermits have not hunted the fish and the fish have not bothered the hermits.

[ClawedIntoMyHeart]

Well I wasnt planning on doing a separate tank inside my current one because it isnt big enough, I was just asking if theyd be alright in the 1 gal water dish. I probably wont do em though based on what you guys said,just to be on the safe side.

[fantasybookworm]

Sorry, I know this is a few days old, but something else that wasn't mentioned - goldfish (and a lot of other fish) contain an enzyme, thiaminase, that blocks vitamin B absorption. It's not a great idea to feed a lot of fish that have this for that reason. I don't know that it would cause a major issue if it's a supplement to a balanced diet (such as for the ducks), but something to consider.

[jclee]

If you are looking out for the well being of the fish as well as for the crab, one gallon is nowhere near big enough for a guppy, let alone more than one. If you are not looking out for the well being of the fish, you're better off buying frozen smelt, which the crabs won't have to catch.