verts dieing

[jnewman]

well last night i was looking at my tank and noticed a emerald crab dead allmost all snails i put in get killed by hermits. have had the crabs 2-3 months and now one just died. Nature or Murder?? this is the question are there preditors diseases that can KIll verts.

[NirvanaFan]

The shells you are finding are not just the molts right?

I like hermits, but I don't like the fact that they will kill my snails.
I think there are diseases that that do something to the shells of inverts, but someone else will have to chime in with that.

[capn_hylinur]

Get rid of the hermits they are known to cause problems with other inverts because they are opportunistic predators.

[Piscator]

This is why many of us forego any crabs in our systems. They are cool to watch, but I just don't feel like feeding them my snails at almost 2 bucks a pop.

There are so many different snail species that are available that you can have quite a nice diversity of them and they do a great job on the sand/rocks/glass.

Also important for snail health: acclimate them slowly and aim for around 1.023-1.025 for sg.

Best wishes,

[an411]

Yeah that is one thing I wish I didnt have and I think that I am going to take them out soon is those blue legged hermits. they killed a bunch of my snails already

[chrisalmand]

Yeah, even if nothing is wrong with your water quality and a snail falls to the bottom the hermits will get a hold of them. I would suggest Scarlet hermits, less aggressive.

-Chris

[christyum22]

good luck its battle and the hrmits usually win. get a variety of snails

[capn_hylinur]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11095402#post11095402 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Piscator
This is why many of us forego any crabs in our systems. They are cool to watch, but I just don't feel like feeding them my snails at almost 2 bucks a pop.

There are so many different snail species that are available that you can have quite a nice diversity of them and they do a great job on the sand/rocks/glass.

Also important for snail health: acclimate them slowly and aim for around 1.023-1.025 for sg.

Best wishes,

good points--also nesassarius snails are great for keeping the substrate aerated and loose.