Do I need hermits? Ready to drop kick all of em

[Stray32]

These little jerks keep knocking over coral frags and I am tired of it :ah:

Anything that isn't attached SECURELY in my tank, they will purposely knock over or move, I have seen them do it. Even freshly glued or epoxied frags are fair game for them.

So I guess the ultimate question is, do I need hermits in my tank?

 

[Reef Empire]

IMO they definitely serve their purpose. We try to stick with the itty bitty ones for this same reason.

 

[fsu1dolfan]

IMO they definitely serve their purpose. We try to stick with the itty bitty ones for this same reason.

Agreed....i just traded my monsters for little tiny guys and i am much happier....plus the bigger they get the less they care about hair algae and only wait for the mysis!!! Smart PITAs

 

[Stray32]

Sounds like its time to do some trading with my LFS.

 

[blaze98]

what kind of hermits are they? I personally don't like them because they kill all my snails, but I keep one or two around just to look at.

 

[Raptor]

I use micro bluelegs. They are tiny little guys.

 

[Poseidon]

No! You don't NEED them! I don't keep any crabs at all in my SPS reef, just get a variety of snails and you will be all set.

 

[Tswifty]

No way man... pitch the crabs. I only keep snails in my system for that reason among others. I keep a mix of Nassarius, Cerith, and Trochus snails... no crabs necessary.

 

[Wy Renegade]

Depends on your tank and on frags you get. Got some frags several days ago covered in algae - within minutes my hermit crabs were all over them cleaning them up, snails never came near them. Hermits serve a definite purpose IMO, but you have to understand that they are opportunistic scavengers and the bigger they get, the more aggressive and damaging they will become.

 

[droblack]

No need for crabs in the tank. I agree that snails are enough, but they can knock over frags too.

 

[Stray32]

No need for crabs in the tank. I agree that snails are enough, but they can knock over frags too.

Yeah but they are less deliberate lol. I swear in a matter of a few hours I picked up a frag of zoas that I had wedged in a rock about 10 times. I kept putting it back, tossing the hermits across the tank (which is great fun, you should try it sometime), then the little suckers would be back on it in a matter of minutes, knocking it over again.

 

[Paul_N]

It must have to do with size. My biggest hermit is only in a 1 inch shell and they never knock any frags over. They crawl all over ever thing. I only get the red legged cortez hermits. They seem to be less aggressive. They don't go after my snails either.

 

[Sikryd]

I had one that would perch in a stag colony all day long! I would chuck him off and he would climb back up to the top of the tank and the 10in stag (looked like a palm tree) and hang out again. Chuck him off...........we did it all day one day - still have him - he has some character!

I just replace my snails every 6 months or so....

That reminds me - need to start watching the tank breakdown threads on my local forums

 

[Stray32]

It must have to do with size. My biggest hermit is only in a 1 inch shell and they never knock any frags over. They crawl all over ever thing. I only get the red legged cortez hermits. They seem to be less aggressive. They don't go after my snails either.

I do have some monsters in my tank, so that is entirely possible.

 

[brandyrb]

No crabs here either, only snails in all our tanks.

 

[NewMelee]

I hear lots of people going with "crabless tanks" but I have kept mine. As others have said I do get rid of the pigs into the sump.

 

[dreaminmel]

I have not kept hermit crabs since maybe four years ago. Snails, cucumber and starfish do most of the work and my tangs take care of any misc algae that the others won't eat.

 

[Yellowtang]

Don't have a single one.

JR,

 

[Stray32]

Granted, I like seeing the little guys scurrying about the rockwork, but they are just tiny bulldozers. Looks like I am going to trade them in for a few more snails. Thanks for the feedback guys.

 

[moto826]

i hate them all ways killing snails when they knock the coral over i put them in other tank