Hermit crabs

[tcorriveau]

How do you tell if a hermit crab has died or is molting? I have one hermit crab that was extremely active last night and today it is sitting on a rock, hanging out of its shell and has not moved all day. Everything I read states the crab may be dead or molting and that if its molting, do not disturb it; however, everything also says to do a smell test/limp test to see if its dead. Those two test require me to move the crab which is contradictory to what you do for a molting crab. The crab was just placed into the main tank two days ago.

[Shawn O]

Leave it alone for a day or two. They seem to pull back into their shells and push off the old exoskeleton like an over-sized sweater. This is probably what you see hanging out of the shell.

btw, I believe the "smell / limp test" is mostly for land hermits. You don't really need a test to see if it's dead, if it is your other CUC will likely dispose of the meaty parts and leave the exoskeletons behind. Just wait a day or two and remove the molts. I had three hermits molt in three days and the old molts were lying around on the floor of the tank. I could see the freshly molted crabs walking around the next day so it was pretty easy to figure out.

[tcorriveau]

Thanks for the quick response Shawn.

[Shawn O]

You're welcome. I got love for the crustaceans.

[Tiggster]

My crabs don't move a lot is this normal?

[anthonys51]

they move around more at night.

[Shawn O]

Originally Posted by Tiggster

My crabs don't move a lot is this normal?

Originally Posted by anthonys51

they move around more at night.

Many species are more active at night. What I find is that almost every species I've added has been fairly reclusive or extremely lazy until they become accustomed to their new surroundings. They will hide in a crevice or hole in the rocks for a couple days before and after molting.

The species I keep behave as follows:
Scarlet Reef - not very active during daylight hours, shy, slow moving, grazing in one spot.
Dwarf Zebra - active during daylight hours, like all over the tank active, eating every bit of food it can find.
Electric Orange Knuckle = active during daylight hours, fast moving, often grazes in one spot, keep their backs to the front of the tank.
Blue Legs - active during daylight hours, all over the tank.
Red Legs - not very active during daylight hours, stay in one spot to graze.
Long Wrist / Long-Armed - active during daylight hours, all over the tank.
Flat-Clawed - very shy, does not move much when people are present, stays in one spot for days at times.
Thin Stripe - too soon to tell, only had less than a week.

HTH

[lastpikd]

I recently bought a Halloween hermit that molted within a day or two of getting into my tank. My wife was the one who saw the Exo skeleton drifting on my sand bed so I thought it had died. Anyways, i went in to grab the shell and sure enough he wasn't letting go of the rock with his legs and I realized that he just molted.

As long as the tank is not small enough to spike with ammonia if a critter dies, I would leave it alone and check it in a couple of days.

[Shawn O]

Lastpikd, how is that Halloween, aggression-wise? Has it actively been trying to steal shells from other crabs or messing with your snails? Best to leave the shells in the tank when they die, unless you have no other hermits in the tank.

[flanole]

I have been looking for some Halloween hermits. Where did you buy yours? Thanks