could a 2" electric blue hermit kill a small blue chromis?

[Aj Flip]

im asking this because im missing one of the 5 chromis i have bought, when i introduced them, 4 hid behind the overflow, and one went in the rocks.

i have a huge golfball sized electric blue hermit and im wondering if it could have grabbed it while it was sleeping

i dont think the fish could have jumped out because i cant find it anywhere in or out of the tank

only coral i have are some zoos

thanks

[GoBigOrGoHome]

definitely feasible. Any hermit, any small fish, there's always a chance. Regardless of a hermit crab's main diet, they seem to be pretty opportunistic feeders, and if your tank is very new, there may not be much else to eat, so he might've gone for the fish. If he didn't catch him and kill him, its equally as likely that the chromis died and the crab finished off the remains. Do you have anything else in there as a cleanup crew?

[Aj Flip]

no, just hermits, electrics, dwarf blues, and a small red one

[Moonstream]

I would remove a few hermits and replace them with snails. much safer for your fish!

[MarkusII]

Hello,

Hermit crabs normally never can catch a fish....
Look a them and how they walk and eat. Fish will always be faster. And when they sleep they will feel the hermit crab coming.
But they will eat them when they are dead!
They are just a cleaning crew and very usefull.

regards

Markus

[Jova]

Yeah... I highly doubt that your hermit crab jumped out of left field and ate your fish. Chances are that it died from some other reason, and the opportunistic hermit crab gobbled it up. I've had many different types of hermit crabs over the years, and from my experience, I've found that they are basically scavangers, and are highly unlikely to be able to catch a healthy fish and eat it. I also have to agree with ole' boy who posted before me about the snails... In the past few months, I've been replacing my hermits with snails, because they seem to work out better in the long run, at least for my tank. Best of luck!

[crvz]

I agree that the odds point to the fish dying and the hermit scavenging, but I wouldnt put capture past a large hermit.

[MarkusII]

Hello,

I really do not believe in bloody fishkilling hermit crabs (the size we have) in our tanks....

regards

Markus

[rampantmarine]

Wouldn't trust him, the fella in my avatar pic is bound for the sump next time he hangs too close to my hand. He stalks the Snails and I have seen him try to kill the other hermits. He eats the Stomatella's and has definitely given up being a vegetarian. Mine is only 3/4" across - I don't want to see a two incher.

Possible you have another hitchhiker?

[EllieSuz]

I've read a lot of threads that discuss Chromis killing each other off until only a few remain. This is a possibility.

[Reef'in Colorado]

very unlikely that the crab caught your chromis, but possible.

[snorvich]

Chromis often kill off the weakest until there is only a small number. Most likely scenario, IMO

[MarkusII]

Hello,

the death of the chromis is for sure related to something else.
One issue that chromis die, is probably the lack of space to hide during night.
As long as there where enough places to hide I never had problems with the number of chromis I had. In the new tank which is structured more open and where I had a few fish more (as I doubled in size), I detected that not all are going to hide in holes and caves in the stones as in the old tank and therefore stayed in more open places (these where the weakest of the group) and after a certain time the group had reduced to the amount which was able to hide properly every night.

Wouldn't trust him, the fella in my avatar pic is bound for the sump next time he hangs too close to my hand. He stalks the Snails and I have seen him try to kill the other hermits. He eats the Stomatella's and has definitely given up being a vegetarian. Mine is only 3/4" across - I don't want to see a two incher.

ok that hermit crabs may attack snails or other fellows is possible - but most of the time it is due that there is not an ideal new "house" in the tank available (free) for them. Most of the time it helps when you put a few bigger empty "houses" in the tank so they can choose from and switch as they grow.
And of course sometimes they might even eat snails like stomatella or others (but normally either they get not enough food from the tank or the snail died - that they eat them; if they get enough food from the tank, most of them are absolutely friendly). I have more than 40 hermits in my 256g and never had a problem with them attacking anything.

regards

Markus

[BuddhaKiss]

is it possible? Sure. Is if likely? No!

[GoBigOrGoHome]

Originally posted by MarkusII
Hello,



ok that hermit crabs may attack snails or other fellows is possible - but most of the time it is due that there is not an ideal new "house" in the tank available (free) for them. Most of the time it helps when you put a few bigger empty "houses" in the tank so they can choose from and switch as they grow.
And of course sometimes they might even eat snails like stomatella or others (but normally either they get not enough food from the tank or the snail died - that they eat them; if they get enough food from the tank, most of them are absolutely friendly). I have more than 40 hermits in my 256g and never had a problem with them attacking anything.

regards

Markus

I would have to say that while unlikely, this is still certainly feasibe, however very much more likely that the fish died, possible from aggression from the other chromis, then was eaten by the crab. I'd say it's also somewhat untrue that if a hermit has an opportunity to inhabit a free upgrade of a shell, he'll take it, as I've seen some hermits kill other hermits that were much smaller than them, and it was obvious that there was no way the hermit could use that shell. Depends on the kind of hermit, but I'd say it probably happens in most species at least to some degree.

[rampantmarine]

Originally posted by MarkusII
Hello,

ok that hermit crabs may attack snails or other fellows is possible - but most of the time it is due that there is not an ideal new "house" in the tank available (free) for them. Most of the time it helps when you put a few bigger empty "houses" in the tank so they can choose from and switch as they grow.
And of course sometimes they might even eat snails like stomatella or others (but normally either they get not enough food from the tank or the snail died - that they eat them; if they get enough food from the tank, most of them are absolutely friendly). I have more than 40 hermits in my 256g and never had a problem with them attacking anything.

Normally, I totally agree with you, this crab needs to read the behaviour section of the Reef Invertebrate section on Blue Legs. FYI he has multiple shells available to him, and he is the biggest bully of the 4 in my tank.

I have had a bad experience with a Hitchhiking crab in my tank last year so I guess I am quick to blame them.

[MrGoodKat00]

Did you figure anything out regarding the missing chromis?