staghorn hermit crab
 

Can anyone tell me anything about the "things" on the back of my staghorn hermit? I have seen them called staghorn hydrocoral and janaria mirabilis. Ive done searches on the internet but come up with nothing more than that. Are they real corals with requirements or somthing else? I know they are alive but dont know much more. Please help!

very difficult if possible to keep successfully long term in the confines of home aquaria... especially when the tank is a garden reef with mixed and crowded cnidarians (corals, anemones, polyps, etc.)

I suggest a species tank (small biotope display is fine) if you try it at all. My real preference is for this organism to be left to experts or simply left in the sea. I really wish retailers would not (!) offer this specimen for casual sale or impulse purchases.

Kudos to you for researching first.

kindly, Anthony

Funnt thing is I got it from a reputable fish store called the fish doctor in ypsi MI. The guy didnt no what it was, and threw it in for free with a 10 dollar coral frag. It must have hitchhiked into the shop. I keep him in a soft coral only tank with other crabs and shrimp. No anenomies or fish, and very strong light and exelent water conditions and care. So far he gets along great with everyone and have seen him interact with everything. I still could use more info on the "corals" on his back. I dont no almost anything and really would like to find out more PLEASE!!!!!!

sorry, mate... I have to disagree with the judgement of the clerk that gave you the animal.

I wish to be a good fellow and nice guy always, but I wont pull punches for posterity: not when it comes down to life and death matters with the living creatures we claim to admire.

The clerk not knowing what a creature is was or how to care for it, then giving it to someone else equally uninformed was not conscientious. The least he/she could have done was find someone that did know what it was so that the organism had a better chance of survival, even if acquired incidentally.

And you as a conscientious aquarist should have declined it since you had no adequate idea of its husbandry needs just the same.

I'm not trying to berate you here, my friend. Quite the contrary... I have enough respect for you and the living creatures we keep to talk straight to you.

Now... as far as helping the creature now in your care, you need to know (as mentioned above) that this creatures best chance for survival is a biotope display.

the short story:the crab is easy to keep alive, the hydroid is not so

the tank needs to be open and spacious unlike a typical reef tank. If you put this creature in typical reef aquarium, the unnatural and repetitive contact of the hydroid on the motile crabs back with other cnidarians will be a severe stress to the hydroid and corals it comes into contact with.

A DSB refugium may be a fair compromise here.

The hydroid is a filter feeder on fine matter... dubious if it can be provided for with prepared foods, but give it a shot unless you are willing to culture rotifers and live phytoplankton.

And for future reference, please be more responsible and not take animals into your care that you have no idea how to keep or if their needs can be met at all. I say this with some sadness at the thought that your Janaria is very unlikely to live 2 years if it even sees one when placed in casual/garden marine aquaria.

best of luck,

Anthony

so you are saying the thing on its back is a hydroid?!?

I haven't seen his specimen, but Janaria is a calcifying hydroid/hydrocoral genus that forms a relationship with some hermit crabs.

Your right. I thought it was just a hermit crab with a cool shell. Just to make sure, I did some reserch, and some posting, and found out what it was, Hence this post. I'm going to take your advice and find a more suitable home for it. What is a hydroid tank? If I cant find one then I'm sure to find a suitable refugium for it. What is DSB? If I had any idea that it wasnt a cool looking hermit crab, I would have never picked it up. At least maybe I can find a better home for it than mine or the LFS, on a better note. I will be notifying the LFS what they sold me and relay the info to them so they wont make the same mistake again either. Thank you so much for the info. I'm an animal lover also, and would never want somthing I cant take care of. P.S. I have read enough of you posts to understand where your comming from, and no offence taken. Keep up the good work and thanks again!

ah, thank you for understanding my friend! I have faith you will go far with such good empathy. Truly so :)

A DSB is a "deep sand bed" system... a popular tank or refugium strategy with say 4" + of fine substrate to get natural nitrate reduction (NNR) as well as culture different microorganisms not commonly found in coarse sand or gravel or live rock only. The hope here is that a fishless DSB refugium might generate some useful plankters to feed the hydroid. Also, the small refugium would concentrate feeding opportunities if you added food or prey like bottled or live cultured plankton. It really could be a fabulously interesting display... but is indeed going to be some work for you.

For some hobbyists this challenge is great fun, for others though it is simply a burden (extra vessels and/or live plankton culture). I frankly fall into the latter category oftentimes myself... too busy or too lazy for special needs species. While this is so, I limit my choices but still have a wide range of amazing creatures to choose from to study/enjoy :)

No worries... you can handle the challenge if desired, but elsewise its good to hear you are willing to look for another home for it if needed.

best of luck and life,

Anthony :)

Anthony, I have always loved the look of the stag hermits. Do you have any idea what you would target feed the Janaria mirabilis? Would bbs be to big of a food item?

Staghorn hermit collector
 

I guys,
I used to collect these in Baja for export and I know for a fact that the Scripps Aquarium in San Diego kept them well for over a year.
They would feed yeast and blood mixed together and let hem loose on a deep sand bed.
We would find them pretty deep where the light was weak.
75 feet down and lotsa wild plankton floating around.

I kinda got the idea that the hermits time was up when the corals time ran out ...but did find wild ones with dead coral "houses". Some got 3 inches across.
PS Another thing...I never found em in warm ie. 80 degree water. In summer they went deeper...in winter shallower.
Steve

blood mixed together?

Yes, Blood and brewers yeast.
They fed a lot of their reef tanks w/ it.
Steve