Reef Central Online Community

Home Forum Here you can view your subscribed threads, work with private messages and edit your profile and preferences View New Posts View Today's Posts

Find other members Frequently Asked Questions Search Reefkeeping ...an online magazine for marine aquarists Support our sponsors and mention Reef Central

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community Archives > General Interest Forums > Responsible Reefkeeping

 
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 12/08/2007, 04:29 PM
kar93 kar93 is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 890
Exclamation Worst Thing

This is one of the worst things i have ever seen, i found this vid on youtube:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb_N5oYhGGY

  #2  
Old 12/08/2007, 07:41 PM
JHemdal JHemdal is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Ohio
Posts: 292
Kane,

Sure - beach wrack is terrible, lots of garbage, but in some environments, the lack of empty gastropod shells means that some land hermits go "unprotected". Better that it found this bit of trash to carry around than to be eaten by a bird don't you think? I did a science fair experiment 40 years ago that offered fake shells to aquatic hermits. I was amazed at what they would "try on for size".

JHemdal
  #3  
Old 12/08/2007, 09:32 PM
steven_dean17 steven_dean17 is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: scott depot wv.
Posts: 600
That's a bad thing, but I don't suppose it's the worst. Don't get me wrong, that does suck!
__________________
The Dali Llama is my "Ommmmmboy"
  #4  
Old 12/08/2007, 10:04 PM
jsrtist jsrtist is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Central CA
Posts: 18
There is, unfortunately, nothing unusual about that video. Land hermits will use anything they can find, including natural items like coconut shells and bamboo. They will also use old broken gastropod shells that are barely recognizable.

I have friends (in the hermit crab world!) who have reintroduced suitable shells onto tropical beaches for the land hermits to us. I personally don't feel that there is a shortage of natural shells, but there certainly is no shortage of trash on beaches, especially plastic, and hermits will use what they need to!
  #5  
Old 12/09/2007, 06:28 AM
kar93 kar93 is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 890
I do agree its better they go protected but id rather see them using something else as shelter
  #6  
Old 12/09/2007, 01:58 PM
syrinx syrinx is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: champaign
Posts: 628
One of the best things I have ever seen. What you people are against recycling? Would you rather he killed some snail for the shell like they do in our tanks all the time? Man is no lessor part of nature than any other organism- his cast off bottle is the same as a cast off shell. Obviously I am not in favor of pollution, but in this case it is not pollution- its home.
  #7  
Old 12/11/2007, 03:55 PM
RumLad RumLad is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Over here :)
Posts: 240
What's worse, the bottle as a shell, or being chased across the beach by that 6 foot giant?

Scared the bajeezus out of the little guy.
__________________
"It is never too late to give up your prejudices" H. D. Thoreau
  #8  
Old 12/11/2007, 04:02 PM
kar93 kar93 is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 890
Its not the WORST thing but i have seen alot of things beter
  #9  
Old 12/12/2007, 09:18 PM
nmywrx nmywrx is offline
Premium Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Hermitage, PA
Posts: 102
It just goes to show that one man's trash is another man's treasure.

I think it's hilarious.
__________________
When you take free advice you usually get what you pay for.
  #10  
Old 12/12/2007, 09:18 PM
Rosseau Rosseau is offline
------------
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Toronto
Posts: 1,704
It's an interesting thing. It is also a sad thing in some ways.

Though I would almost say it could be a positive.

I hope more species are able to adapt to human influence. We're a major environmental force and adaptation for many animals is critical!



If you dig into the pollution statistics bottles laying around the ocean are the least of our concerns. Same goes for oil spills. Though they are very visually striking and can have insant localized effects the total contributions to oceanic pollution of oil spills and to some extent physical garbage is minimal.
__________________
Still fighting entropy.
  #11  
Old 12/13/2007, 10:31 PM
virginiadiver69 virginiadiver69 is offline
I think I love my tank
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Gum Spring, Virginia
Posts: 1,863
Quote:
Originally posted by 07kar93
Its not the WORST thing but i have seen alot of things beter
UMMM..."WORST thing" is the name of your thread.
__________________
Current Livestock:
mated pair False Percs
mated pair Banggai Cardinals
Longnose Hawkfish
Magnificent Rabbitfish
Diamond Goby
Blond Naso Tang
Bluechin Trigger

I got the poo on me.
  #12  
Old 12/14/2007, 03:45 PM
kar93 kar93 is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 890
Well you know, to catch your attention
  #13  
Old 01/05/2008, 02:37 PM
Fischer's Angel Fischer's Angel is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Atooi
Posts: 42
I think it just shows the adaptability of nature - the crab had a shell previous to moving into the bottle - it just found the bottle more roomy and decided to use it.
Hermit crabs do not "Automatically" grow larger over time - even after shedding they can remain the same size for a very long time, until a suitable larger shell becomes available,or in this case bottle.
Had the crab not found the bottle to his liking, he would simply have remained at the same size and kept his old shell.
  #14  
Old 01/05/2008, 11:09 PM
billsreef billsreef is offline
Moderator
10 & Over Club
 
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 12,688
Nope, they really do keep growing. I've seen plenty that are obviously long overdue for a new shell, yet they kept on growing without moving into that newer and bigger shell
__________________
Bill

"LOL, well I have no brain apparently. " - dc (Debi)
  #15  
Old 01/05/2008, 11:41 PM
Fischer's Angel Fischer's Angel is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Atooi
Posts: 42
No kidding? They do keep growing even without changing out shells? I never realized that, as they didn't SEEM bigger to me, but then I didn't exactly measure them with a caliper or anything, just kind of eyeballed it, ya know?
I guess we all learn something new everyday! Anyway, the point of my post was that I think it's amazing how adaptable nature is - in the absence of natural shells, the animal found a "suitable" substitute to it's liking in the bottle.
  #16  
Old 01/06/2008, 11:46 AM
billsreef billsreef is offline
Moderator
10 & Over Club
 
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 12,688
The growth is slow, so we really don't notice such things in our aquaria, especially with small species we keep in our reefs. It more noticeable with the large species. I've seen it quite often in wild. Seems they sometimes get "attached" to a favorite shell and don't won't to move out till long past the time they should have, pretty darn funny looking too Kind of like the one that decided a bottle made a good home

BTW, a few months ago I picked up a bottle covered with jingle shells (a species of bivalve), and two different limpet species. I used it for a touch tank specimen and it got more interest than anything else from both kids and adults. Just to the amazement of what nature adapted too
__________________
Bill

"LOL, well I have no brain apparently. " - dc (Debi)
  #17  
Old 01/11/2008, 01:47 PM
rwbogard rwbogard is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 41
It's pretty amazing the power humans have to both destroy and create habitats. It would be pretty sweet if we could maybe spend a bit more time creating them though...
 

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 02:44 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef Central™ Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2009