are these hermits reefsafe for clams and corals?

[GrAhF11]

hi charles! are these small hermits reef safe for corals and clams? and what do they really eat? do they eat cyano bacteria?

[charlesr1958]

That is probably a Phimochirus holthuisi or maybe a Clibanarius species. For the most part, these species, which I can find most commonly in the shallows are very tough creatures and have to be in order to withstand near-shore conditions and will eat just about anything that is available, able to get by on just algae but should something meaty come along, you will find them by the dozens trying to get their share of the protein.

Clams should be okay as they can close up and protect themselves, corals might be at greater risk and for sure, any tube worms or other sessile inverts on the rocks would most likely get eaten in due time. I don't consider any but the Pagurita species to be reef safe, and only this genus group because they never leave their tube dwelling.

I personaly would not add these crabs to my reef aquarium, a fish only tank would be okay though.

Charles

[GrAhF11]

[spy_i]

[charlesr1958]

The Paguritta species, which there are a few live within burrows in living corals and most often, take over empty "Christmas tree" worm tubes, these are the only hermit crab species I enjoy as they never leave their burrows/tubes and do no real harm at all to the corals.



Charles

[khuran]

hrmm looks nice, so are the ones pictured by graf pagurittas?

[aquaboy]

they don't look like much of a clean up crew crab. I'm guessing they eat like porcelain crabs?

[charlesr1958]

No, the ones in the first photos are the typical shell dwelling mobile species while the Paguritta species remain in their tubes at all times, and yes, they do feed exactly like Porcelain crabs (feathery appendages to capture food particles out of the water).

Chuck

[aquaboy]

Dude grahf11, they will not eat Cyano these paguritas. Unless it's floating on water? They do look like a very interesting addition to a small reef.

These were the halloween crabs I got at carti before. They did not bother my feather dusters and corals in my reef that crashed last year. Unlike the red legged voracious type, these are very small. I adopted them out. Now that I have a new nano I just need one so bad. They ate cyano and cleaned the sand. Some are blue, some are violet. The joints are orange.

[GrAhF11]

i put 2 of those hermits that i have in my tank and so far my tube anemone coco worms and tube worms are all ok. theyd probably chew on them when food supply is low.

what is the best creature to put in a tank that eats cyano bacteria and other algae?

[charlesr1958]

I don't know of any creatures that we can buy that actively seek out and eat cyanobacteria, but with good water quality and good water flow, the cyanobacteria will go away on its own eventualy. For algae, since most all of the herbivores have select preferences and abilitys due to the great diversity of algae species and the same diversity of toxins they produce, we need to keep a diverse herbivore team.



Charles

[GrAhF11]

[charlesr1958]

[Flexi2009]

[GrAhF11]

thanks for that info also flexi. i have put in 2 salarias in it and hopefully the cyano algae will be lessened. it already blocked some of the gsp polyps from coming out. will also put in a lot of turbo and nassarius snails once theyve arrived.