|
|
|
05/27/2007, 11:38 AM
|
#1 |
|
Registered Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 525
|
Hermit Crabs keep dying
I have a 34g RedSea Max. I have 52 lbs live rock and 30 pounds of sand. I just got my tank cycled 2 weeks ago and I picked up a cleaning crew about 5 days after it cycled. The LFS suggested 20 Hermits for my tank and I also got 3 turbos, 3 nassarius, 2 Trochus snails, and 2 emerald crabs. The lfs ended up giving me 38 hermits (I only paid for 20), gave me one of the emeralds for free, and gave me the 3 nassarius for free. I think that is awesome they gave me so many things for free but I think I got way too many hermits for my 34 gallon tank. I did have a ton of algae in my tank and they took care of that in like 2-3 days. I also didn't have a chiller in my tank until Thursday, so for like 10 days, my temps were high, I was running at about 82 degrees, since I got the chiller in, I am at 77.8 degrees. I also have a ton of extra shells in the tank. I thought they ran out of food so I started giving they dried seaweed on Thursday. I also did my first 10% water change yesterday. I had my water temp and salt match the tank so the water change went a-ok, I also had a powerhead in the bucket the night before. I am not sure why I keep seeing dead ones, I found 4 dead ones in the last 36 hours. It seems like each day I am finding 1-2 dead. Any other ideas on why they may be dying? I wanted to get get a seastar, fire shrimp, and possibly some coral frags but I am concerned about they dying. Also, the snails seem fine, the emerald are picking away, and the other hermits seem ok. I did notice the one I just found dead this morning, wasn't really moving around alot yesterday.
Water Parameters 1.025 salt 0 ammonia 0 nitrites 10 nitrates 8.2 PH 2.6 alk |
|
|
|
05/27/2007, 11:40 AM
|
#2 |
|
Registered Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: NOLA
Posts: 1,453
|
You're lucky. I wish i could get rid of all my hermit crabs, but there are too many. They kill everything in their path.
__________________
SCA 50 Starfire: In Progress Current Tank Info: 20 High -> 40 Cube -> Nanocube 12 DX -> 25 Gallon Rimless -> 10 Gallon AGA Temporary Tank -> JBJ 24 LED -> SCA Starfire 50 Cube |
|
|
|
|
05/27/2007, 11:42 AM
|
#3 |
|
Registered Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 525
|
So are you saying this is normal since they cleaned the initial algae? I think I have lost about half of my hermit army.
|
|
|
|
|
05/27/2007, 12:00 PM
|
#4 |
|
Registered Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Posts: 373
|
IMO they shouldn't just be dropping off that fast for no reason. I have a hermit in my 24g but he wasnt bought as the cleanup crew. He just came in on the LR and I didnt wanna get rid of him. I dont find he does anything worth while in terms of cleanup... compared to the real cleanup crew.
My crew goes as follows for my 24g: 8 Astrea Snails, 6 Nassarius, and 1 emerald crab because I had a bubble algae problem. MY tank stays pretty algae free and the glass is clean for about a week before I have to clean some off myself. If it was my tank I'd want a lot less hermits, they cant clean the glass and they will kill snails for shells if they need too. If the glass and rocks seems covered with algae still, try some Astrea's they keep my glass really clean, and the rockwork also. Nassarius are really cool to watch and really help w/ cleaning up any uneaten food. Id get more of those. And as for the emeralds, I like mine because he got rid of the bubble algae... but I don't think he does as good of a clean up job on anything else as the snails do. How quickly did you adjust the water temp? a swing of 5 degrees too quickly might have caused some of the damage... just a thought. Hope that helps, Matt |
|
|
|
|
05/27/2007, 12:09 PM
|
#5 |
|
Registered Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 525
|
Ruskin, thanks for the reply, on Thursday my temp was 82ish and after I got the chiller in, I just let it ran until the tank got down to 78ish. I probably should have dropped the temp a degree a day, my mistake. How many hermits do you think is ideal for my tank then?
|
|
|
|
|
05/27/2007, 12:29 PM
|
#6 |
|
Registered Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Posts: 373
|
Some people are going to tell you 0 hermits. I think for the potential problems the can cause with snails their use is overshadowed. I haven't had a problem with mine, but then again he is the only one i have. What kind of hermits are they anyways? Will your LFS let you exchange them for some snails? If so you might want to do that. That way you wont have to waste any money.
15-20 Astrea's might be a good number to aim for. 10-12 Nassarius also... but to be completely honest I have no experience with Turbo's or Trochus so i dont want to tell you much about them... Matt |
|
|
|
|
05/27/2007, 12:45 PM
|
#7 |
|
Registered Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 525
|
blue-legged hermits, I had 3 scarletts but all 3 are dead. I am going to another fish store today and will get some snails and stuff but on Tuesday, I will head back to the fish store and bring back some of the hermits and get store credit.
|
|
|
|
|
05/27/2007, 03:45 PM
|
#8 |
|
Registered Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Lake Charles, LA
Posts: 198
|
I would not put anything more into the tank until you know what is going on. If your tank just cycled 2 weeks ago, you should not rush anything. Things take a while (honestly a lot longer than most people would care to admit/wait) to reach an "equilibrium." Let the tank sit for a while.
__________________
- ThomasinKind Current Tank Info: none - researching for a nano to be set up in the near future |
|
|
|
|
05/27/2007, 04:42 PM
|
#9 |
|
Moved On
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: el paso tx
Posts: 7,634
|
|
|
|
|
|
05/28/2007, 04:15 PM
|
#10 |
|
Premium Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Pasadena, CA
Posts: 127
|
I think they kill each other
|
|
|
|
|
05/28/2007, 04:24 PM
|
#11 |
|
Premium Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Pasadena, CA
Posts: 127
|
nice animal you got there
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
