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So I have a medium sized green hermit that I swear every time i look in the tank has a different shell on his back. This leads me to believe he may be shell jacking my snails as I see less and less of them on my glass in the morning. He is the only crab I have, so if I must I'll make him a refugium resident.

 

Am I just being paronoid?

 

And are the smaller blue legged type of crabs safer for the snails?

yep... he is probably killing snails and stealing their shells... especially if he does not like any of the shells sitting around.... I usually put in twice as many empty shells as i have hermits...though it does not always help,lol

Where can you get empty shells? I also try to get the LFS to toss in afew but it would be nice to just order a handfull.

I would recommend getting a melanurus wrasse. They love the taste of crabs. :happy:

 

I have a melanurus, he only eats the crabs if you forget to feed him

my 3 biggest hermits (2" shells) were banished to the sump

the only crabs left in my display are much smaller hermits (3/4" shells)

and some emeralds (they won't steal shells, but I am still missing a few small fish, so ...)

Emerald, aka mithrax, crabs sometimes pick polyps off of sos, and sometimes lay in wait in the little holes the little fish like to go in.... I don't trust them at all.

Where can you get empty shells? I also try to get the LFS to toss in afew but it would be nice to just order a handfull.

Reefcleaners has small ones for $.07 and medium/large ones for twice that; Reefs2go is more, but they have a mixed lot of 100 for $25. If you've got larger hermits, Michael's (the craft store) periodically has bags of mixed empty shells (not all of which are crab-suitable) for decorating at about $8 a bag, if I'm remembering correctly, although I boil those to make sure they're clean before they go in the tank. I think most LFS have at least some as well.

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