hermit crab out of shell

staticx · #1 12/01/2006, 04:07 AM

So one of my hermits decided to change shells. When I noticed this i looked around the tank and another hermit looks like it tried to change shells butdidnt find one it liked. Now he is jsut sitting in the tank without a shell. What should I do ??

Rijinals · #2 12/01/2006, 04:09 AM

Surround him with shells, if he likes one he will go in, its a bit dodgy at the mo because he is defensless!
Do you have a picture??

neotekz · #3 12/01/2006, 04:09 AM

put an empty shell in front of him

staticx · #4 12/01/2006, 04:10 AM

Ill go try to take a pic, thanks for the fast response.

staticx · #5 12/01/2006, 05:41 AM

Ahhh bad news, he didnt make it. looks like something ate his body. I dont know what could have done that though. all I have is damsles, can they do that?/

demonsp · #6 12/01/2006, 06:31 AM

Yea add a bunch a shells differant sizes and shapes , i got a good pick from hobby lobby. They will kill snails for there shells if they like it whether there are empty sheels or not. But there is a pistol shrimp that likes crabs and they bang on the shell untill he leaves mb he was able to get away for a few minutes. In case you havent seen this link its a cool video on mantis shrimp.

http://www.102tech.com/fish/mantis.wmv

Rob Martin · #7 12/01/2006, 08:23 AM

Are you sure it's not a molt?
Rob.

staticx · #8 12/01/2006, 08:25 AM

Hmm
It might be could you explain to me I didnt think hermits molted but them again I dont know much. And it doesnt look like jsut empty skin. Hmm

jbrunken · #9 12/01/2006, 10:14 AM

Hermits molt all the time. From the front, the molts are usually look just like they would if the crab was still inside... From the back, they look like the body was torn off.

Also, if it's a molt, you will usually find that the crab that molted is wedged up against something (or inside of a rock) while his new exoskeleton hardens.

-JB

michaeldaly · #10 12/01/2006, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by staticx
Hmm
It might be could you explain to me I didnt think hermits molted but them again I dont know much. And it doesnt look like jsut empty skin. Hmm

I can see you dont know much!

UrbanSage · #11 12/01/2006, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by michaeldaly
I can see you dont know much!

I hope that was an inside joke. Because I sure did not get it and to me it seemed excessively harsh.

Hermits do molt. Their molt will look just about identical to a living hermit crab just without its shell.

If it is a molt it will likely just look like the tail end was munched on.

Liquid Hobby · #12 12/01/2006, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jbrunken
Also, if it's a molt, you will usually find that the crab that molted is wedged up against something (or inside of a rock) while his new exoskeleton hardens.

-JB

Have you witnessed this? I have read, not witnessed, that hermits will go into their current or new shell to harden after a molt so as to shape their large claw to the shells shape. That way when they retreat, they can close the 'door' tightly...

jbrunken · #13 12/01/2006, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Liquid Hobby
Have you witnessed this? I have read, not witnessed, that hermits will go into their current or new shell to harden after a molt so as to shape their large claw to the shells shape. That way when they retreat, they can close the 'door' tightly...

I see it all the time with mine... Now I'm not saying that they do this OUT of their shell.... I'm saying that they usually butt the shell opening up against something solid so that they are protected until their new exoskeleton is good to go.

When they do this, they usually don't move for 2 or 3 days...

-JB

Liquid Hobby · #14 12/01/2006, 03:38 PM

Cool, thanks for the response!

staticx · #15 12/01/2006, 04:13 PM

i love it when you ask a question and clearly say that you dont know much and then people tell you that you dont know anything, thanks for the help everyone who helped I actualy learned alot from this thread

BrianD · #16 12/01/2006, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by michaeldaly
I can see you dont know much!

You have a PM, michaeldaly.

samwrang · #17 12/02/2006, 09:00 AM

what does PM stand for?

staticx · #18 12/02/2006, 09:03 AM

private message =pm
brian is a rc staf member and he does not put up with rude comments I know from personal experience, the staf members make this site as user frendly as they can thanks to them there is not alot of bashing on this site.

cilyjr · #19 12/02/2006, 09:18 AM

staticx,
i remember the first molt i saw in my tank and i thought the same. and i posted this basic thread....maybe its like a little rite of passage!

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=983443
here is a thread with a pic of a molt (not a good pic, but gets the idea accross) for those who have not seen it yet. you will!!!

dc · #20 12/02/2006, 09:24 AM

Crab molts tend to be a little thicker in some cases than a shrimp molt, so you can often think it's dead only to find it later.

staticx · #21 12/02/2006, 09:42 AM

cilyjr
Ha Ha thats great just what I was thinking and excactly what it looked like I dont feel so stupid now. thank you for the laugh

cilyjr · #22 12/02/2006, 09:51 AM

maybe someone should put a molting sticky on the top of the invert forum! it would have helped me. IMO nobody should feel stupid for not knowing something, thats why we are all here.
i guess michaeldaly was born with all the worlds knowledge. i thought i was when i was 16, but quickly grew out of that

staticx · #23 12/02/2006, 10:16 AM

lol
Its kinda funny when people like michaelady reply like that as if this was the advanced topic forum.

michaeldaly · #24 12/02/2006, 10:34 AM

Ok, sorry guys,sorry staticx, I was just kind of angry with staticx for a rude comment he posted in another thread.

dc · #25 12/02/2006, 10:41 AM

Your last 2 comments are unnecessary staticx and cilyjr!
Did you forget this already?

Quote:

private message =pm
brian is a rc staf member and he does not put up with rude comments I know from personal experience, the staf members make this site as user frendly as they can thanks to them there is not alot of bashing on this site.