My Tank

[sl0th]

Just a question about the hermit crab...does it also get food only every two weeks or so? And if so, how long has it been in there?

The hermit crab only gets food when I feed the whole tank...which is very rare now. I usually just break an algae wafer in half (or even smaller) and drop it in maybe every 45 days? What usually happens is the shrimp that want some come grab it first then the hermit crab grabs some and finally the snails finish it off. When I don't feed the hermit crab mainly feeds on the the same algae the snails and the shrimp do. The hermit has been in there a year now. I'd like to get him some company, but I'd hate to change the dynamics of the tank since it seems to going well so I've held off for now.

[Mustafa]

Interesting, ok. Thanks! So it looks like one hermit crab can survive on the shrimp food schedule.

[sl0th]

Just an update. I started putting in a little less than 1/8th of an algae wafer in about every week and a half now. Not many shrimp go for it (I'd say about 5 or 6 out of 20-30), but the hermit crab eats his fair share and the snails clean up the rest. No left overs. I started doing this cause it seems like the snails run out of food fairly fast. The shrimp have it a bit easier because they can access the spots with algae that the snails can't due to size and they don't seem to eat near as much.

Unrelated...It also seems like I went from one shrimp momma to 5 or 6 shrimp mommas overnight! Wow. My community is going to start growing fast now it seems.

[JennyPenny]

Your tank looks great! What size is it?
I have about a 2 gallon and was thinking about adding a hermit crab, but I think my tank might be too small. What do you think? And do you have any advice for adding the hermit crab? Do you need to acclimate or can I just pop him in?
ETA: Do you add iodine to the water to help him molt? I heard that was necessary.

[sl0th]

Your tank looks great! What size is it?
I have about a 2 gallon and was thinking about adding a hermit crab, but I think my tank might be too small. What do you think? And do you have any advice for adding the hermit crab? Do you need to acclimate or can I just pop him in?
ETA: Do you add iodine to the water to help him molt? I heard that was necessary.

Thank you! It is a 5 gallon tank. Your 2 gallon might be too small, but I think it really depends on what you currently have in your tank (http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/BioLoad)? I'm pretty sure I have too many snails in my tank currently, but somehow I've been able to balance it and keep my water quality good. I've wanted to add another dwarf blue legged hermit crab for sometime now (I feel bad he is all alone), but I'm worried that would change the dynamics and bioload of my tank too much. If you do go for a hermit crab make sure to get a small (dwarf) one and I would just monitor your water quality for any adverse effects. Adding a hermit crab will also change your feeding schedule and how much you feed at a time (you definitely do not want food left over sitting in your tank). It took me awhile to get that part it dialed in. I would definitely acclimate the hermit crab if he came from a saltwater tank. I used a drip acclimation method over a period of 2-3 hours (speeding up the dripping over time) I believe before I put mine in the tank. I would also raise your salinity levels before hand to around 1.012-1.016 to ease the acclimation and keep them there (I think 1.014-1.016 range would be best at first). I do not add any iodine to the water to help him molt. I haven't seen him molt in awhile but I have seen him molt in the past multiple times so far. I added a bunch of small shells of various sizes before getting him. At first he tried two different ones out but has stuck with the same one for a long time now.

If you have any more questions just let me know!

[Mustafa]

The eggs should have hatched by now...have you seen any larvae yet?