wierd hermit crab death. some sort of parasite

romsoccer12 · 08/11/2009, 09:35 PM

well i know it cant be params because everything is 0 except nitrates wich are a little bit over. all hermits are doing fine but every once in a while i see one crawling without its shell and it just dies. today i saw one drooping out of its shell, almost dead, so i didnt want it to suffer anymore and pulled it out of its shell flush it and noticed a really long tube like worm connected to the rear. i could be wrong, maybe it was part of the hermit crab, but it looked unnatural and it was a little longer than the whole hermit. any ideas on what this thing is? can somone show me a picture of a hermit out of its shell? really sorry i didnt get a pic of it, that was dumb of me

Ebisan · 08/11/2009, 10:05 PM

You sure it wasn't molting?

Aquarist007 · 08/11/2009, 10:14 PM

To fix the problem, it is important to understand the circumstances under which a hermit crab might come out of its shell:

Another crab took its shell. Crabs will fight over desirable shells, but also will sometimes "steal" a shell while the shell-less crab was trying out another shell.
Stress; for example from something wrong in the environment. This can be from the humidity being too low or too high (should be 70-80 percent) or incorrect temperatures (often too warm). Other stressors can lead to crabs coming out of their shells as well.
The shell is irritating the crab -- sometimes sand or another foreign object gets in the shell, or sometime fungal infections or mites in the shell cause a crab to evacuate.
Not enough shell selection -- a good variety of shell sizes and styles should always be provided, so crabs have plenty to choose from.
Molting (rarely) - sometimes a crab will come out of its shell to molt, though this is also unusual unless the crab is stressed.

http://exoticpets.about.com/od/hermi...hermitcrab.htm

romsoccer12 · 08/12/2009, 08:20 AM

it wasnt molting, there was something wrong with it. all the other hermits are fine including snails. enough shells to go around for all the hermits. as you see in the picture, there is that long tail like thing. that thing on the the dead hermit was like 3 times as long and looked like it was pulsating. almost like a parasite or worm

08/11/2009, 09:35 PM	#1
romsoccer12 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: ohio Posts: 2,625	wierd hermit crab death. some sort of parasite well i know it cant be params because everything is 0 except nitrates wich are a little bit over. all hermits are doing fine but every once in a while i see one crawling without its shell and it just dies. today i saw one drooping out of its shell, almost dead, so i didnt want it to suffer anymore and pulled it out of its shell flush it and noticed a really long tube like worm connected to the rear. i could be wrong, maybe it was part of the hermit crab, but it looked unnatural and it was a little longer than the whole hermit. any ideas on what this thing is? can somone show me a picture of a hermit out of its shell? really sorry i didnt get a pic of it, that was dumb of me __________________ Colin R Current Tank Info: 3rd tank working fine!(29gal oceanic biocube) 5-6months old

08/11/2009, 10:14 PM	#3
Aquarist007 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Hamilton, Canada Posts: 28,240 Blog Entries: 1	To fix the problem, it is important to understand the circumstances under which a hermit crab might come out of its shell: Another crab took its shell. Crabs will fight over desirable shells, but also will sometimes "steal" a shell while the shell-less crab was trying out another shell. Stress; for example from something wrong in the environment. This can be from the humidity being too low or too high (should be 70-80 percent) or incorrect temperatures (often too warm). Other stressors can lead to crabs coming out of their shells as well. The shell is irritating the crab -- sometimes sand or another foreign object gets in the shell, or sometime fungal infections or mites in the shell cause a crab to evacuate. Not enough shell selection -- a good variety of shell sizes and styles should always be provided, so crabs have plenty to choose from. Molting (rarely) - sometimes a crab will come out of its shell to molt, though this is also unusual unless the crab is stressed. http://exoticpets.about.com/od/hermi...hermitcrab.htm __________________ I prefer my substrates stirred but not shaken Current Tank Info: 150gal long mixed reef, 90gal sump, 60 gal refugium with 200 lbs live rock

08/12/2009, 08:20 AM	#4
romsoccer12 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: ohio Posts: 2,625	it wasnt molting, there was something wrong with it. all the other hermits are fine including snails. enough shells to go around for all the hermits. as you see in the picture, there is that long tail like thing. that thing on the the dead hermit was like 3 times as long and looked like it was pulsating. almost like a parasite or worm __________________ Colin R Current Tank Info: 3rd tank working fine!(29gal oceanic biocube) 5-6months old

08/11/2009, 10:05 PM	#2
Ebisan Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,141	You sure it wasn't molting?