Hermit breeding

[Korova]

Has anyone ever bred hermits? If so, what species and how did you go about it?

[Mimbler1]

An unknown species reproduces in my 200 gal reef with no help from me. They are small with pale legs, and start out with tiny shells they get from the sandbed. I sent one to Dr. Shimek, and he confirmed that it is some kind of hermit. He says that the common reef hermits would be -very- difficult to breed due to the long larval stage (a feeding issue).
regards, Mike

[gregt]

I'm pretty sure my scarlet legged hermits have bred without my help. I bought 12 of them a year ago, have seen a couple killed by a large crab, and have counted as many as 15 in the tank currently. Unless a 1/2 dozen of them were hiding in LR (which is possible, but I think unlikely) then they have reproduced in my tank.

[Korova]

Thanks for sharing your experiences, I just find Hermits to be one of the most interesting critters that live in an reef aquarium. Has anyone ever set-up a tank solely for this purpose? It might turn out to be a great project...

[biomekanic]

Do you know what species of hermits you have reproducing? the people over on the ceph mailing list are trying to find a small crustacean so they can feed larval octopuses. your hermits sound like a perfect fit. thanks!

[edsreef]

check out this thread
http://archive.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33958