Blue Hermit Abandoned Shell and Died

[Shoestring Reefer]

I bought 7 snails (one is a fighting conch) and about 4 days later I bought one Scarlet Hermit and one Blue-Legged hermit. The scarlet climed onto the top of some rock, just below a return nozzle (out of the flow path) and sat there for about two days. Then he dissappeared and I haven't seen him for a week. The Blue-Legged hermit moved to the back of the tank, cleaned a patch of brown algae-diatoms, I think. I got diatoms, then cyano, and the diatoms are dying off, but the cyano is still going. a couple of nights ago I came home and founf the Blue-Legged hermit near the front of the tank, dead, with his shell about two inches away. There are other shells in the tank (came with the live sand), so I don't think he out grew it and abandoned it. He lived about a week, and the snails have all lived two weeks so far.

Why would the hermit do this.

Ammonia = 0 (when I put them in, and now)
Nitrite = 0.1 now (about 5 when they went in
Nitrate = 0.2 now (about 10 when they went in)
pH = 8.0
Alk = 2.5 (I know pH and ALK are low, but would they cause this?)
Calcium = 500 a week ago (High, I know. Now dosing with Baking Soda instead of Kalk)
Temp = 80-82

I rapidly dosed with the baking soda a couple of times (adding 1 tablespoon, 55-gal tank with about 20 gallon sump/fuge) so maby this was the cause. Someone started a thread about snails loosing their shells a while ago, I thought of his problem, but my snails are fine.

[Shoestring Reefer]

By the way, I started the cycle with an uncooked shrimp from the grocery store. I removed (very nasty) it when I saw that the algae had really taken off, and have been harvesting the slime since. I got a real funny look when I asked for 3 shrimp at the seafood deli, lol.

[ignite1402]

i think it's not dead... perhapse it has molted and is currently hiding while waitin for it's shell to harden? just IMO..

[JPerkins]

Yep, molting probably. First time this happened to me I freaked but he showed back up.

[ignite1402]

yeah freaked out too the first time i saw my boxing shrimp molt.... thot it's dead but i was actually its molt... LOL pale white in color.. scary..

[Shoestring Reefer]

Originally posted by ignite1402
yeah freaked out too the first time i saw my boxing shrimp molt.... thot it's dead but i was actually its molt... LOL pale white in color.. scary..

OK, that would be good. But the legs were still blue, not white. Only the body was white/grey.

[davebe]

My blue legged hermit molted the other week it was laying in the bottom of the tank with its body and blue and black legs intact
i thought it had died but about 2 weeks later it reapeared and is now doing fine

[ignite1402]

most of the time the limbs will still manage to remain some of it's color when it molt.... so have u found ur crabby yet?

[Shoestring Reefer]

He's back, and in the same shell. He has plenty of others to choose from, so maby the shell is still big enough, or he hasn't found them yet.

I think he ate his old shell. He moved over next to it, and now it's gone, except for a few legs. I've heard about lobsters and crabs doing that.