Red Hermit Crab?

YeagerMiester · 08/13/2012, 07:13 PM

Hey everyone,

I'm new to the forums and have had my tank for about 6 months and have a lot to learn But I had a question regarding what I thought were Hermit Crabs.

Are they the same?

SushiGirl · 08/13/2012, 09:29 PM

There are lots of different kinds of hermit crabs. Your red one looks like a scarlet hermit and your others are likely blue leg hermits. Those are the 2 most commonly sold for tanks like ours.

YeagerMiester · 08/13/2012, 11:44 PM

Thank you very much. It actually scared the crap out of me when I saw him come out. I'm still new to this so when I saw he was different I immediately thought my entire tank was endangered.

Thats what happens when I mix saltwater tanks with boos...

donya · 08/14/2012, 10:02 AM

The right hermit is Pagurusistes cadenati (commonly called scarlet, red-leg, etc.) but the left is not Clibanarius tricolor (blue-leg, which really are VERY blue, not brown) but will be some other Clibanarius species, maybe C. digueti (often sold as red-leg as well, or red-tip), but it's hard to tell from the photo.

Just a small caution: P. cadenati and small Clibanarius do not always get along well in all tanks. They are a commonly sold combination in the trade, but they are also the most common combination I've heard/read reported in instances of hermit crab wars. P. cadenati and C. tricolor makes up the vast majority of those cases, but other combinations have problems sometimes too. It's a general risk for tanks with mixed hermit crab species and is greater in smaller environments and/or densely-stocked ones. This is also not to say that yours won't continue to get along peacefully if all has been well for 6 months. However, particularly if this is a smaller tank, you will want to make sure there are ample shells and food present for the hermits to keep it that way as the animals grow.

SushiGirl · 08/14/2012, 10:46 AM

Thanks for scientific names, Donya, I always like having those for when I put pics on Flickr. I've not done that on any but 1 of my hermits, I think. I've not bothered to get the rest positively ID'd OL.

YeagerMiester · 08/24/2012, 02:14 PM

Wow. Thank you guys very much. I will keep an eye on him. If he decides to go to war I'll be on top of it. :-)

08/13/2012, 07:13 PM	#1
YeagerMiester Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 15	Red Hermit Crab? Hey everyone, I'm new to the forums and have had my tank for about 6 months and have a lot to learn But I had a question regarding what I thought were Hermit Crabs. Are they the same?

08/13/2012, 09:29 PM	#2
SushiGirl Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Fort Worth, TX USA Posts: 8,267	There are lots of different kinds of hermit crabs. Your red one looks like a scarlet hermit and your others are likely blue leg hermits. Those are the 2 most commonly sold for tanks like ours. __________________ Visit my Homepage or "My Albums" (via Profile) for hitchhiker pics. Current Tank Info: 55g softy/LPS tank & 20L reef tank

08/14/2012, 10:02 AM	#4
donya Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: CT, U.S.A. Posts: 242	The right hermit is Pagurusistes cadenati (commonly called scarlet, red-leg, etc.) but the left is not Clibanarius tricolor (blue-leg, which really are VERY blue, not brown) but will be some other Clibanarius species, maybe C. digueti (often sold as red-leg as well, or red-tip), but it's hard to tell from the photo. Just a small caution: P. cadenati and small Clibanarius do not always get along well in all tanks. They are a commonly sold combination in the trade, but they are also the most common combination I've heard/read reported in instances of hermit crab wars. P. cadenati and C. tricolor makes up the vast majority of those cases, but other combinations have problems sometimes too. It's a general risk for tanks with mixed hermit crab species and is greater in smaller environments and/or densely-stocked ones. This is also not to say that yours won't continue to get along peacefully if all has been well for 6 months. However, particularly if this is a smaller tank, you will want to make sure there are ample shells and food present for the hermits to keep it that way as the animals grow. __________________ My website & research info: http://pantheon.yale.edu/~dvq2/ Current Tank Info: 3 fw tanks (2x20g and 1g), 10 sw tanks (0.9g, 3x1g, 1.5g, 3g, 5g, 10g, 20g, 55g)

08/14/2012, 10:46 AM	#5
SushiGirl Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Fort Worth, TX USA Posts: 8,267	Thanks for scientific names, Donya, I always like having those for when I put pics on Flickr. I've not done that on any but 1 of my hermits, I think. I've not bothered to get the rest positively ID'd OL. __________________ Visit my Homepage or "My Albums" (via Profile) for hitchhiker pics. Current Tank Info: 55g softy/LPS tank & 20L reef tank

08/13/2012, 11:44 PM	#3
YeagerMiester Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 15	Thank you very much. It actually scared the crap out of me when I saw him come out. I'm still new to this so when I saw he was different I immediately thought my entire tank was endangered. Thats what happens when I mix saltwater tanks with boos...

08/24/2012, 02:14 PM	#6
YeagerMiester Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 15	Wow. Thank you guys very much. I will keep an eye on him. If he decides to go to war I'll be on top of it. :-)