[hugoguillen]

Hi guys! I have about 12 little hermit crabs in my 40 gal tank. Today I found one out of his shell! It looks like there is one crab that grabs the other crabs and shakes them. Is he doing this because he wants a different shell? Is he simply aggressive?Help!

[glampka]

Are you sure the crab didn't molt? That could be what you're looking at.

[rlcline76]

I agree, I am guessing that you might be looking at a molt. And yes, it sounds like your monster hermit crab is looking for a shell. Hermit crabs are great for the tank but can be complete buttheads. I bought 5 nerite snails this weekend, it didn't take long before the hermit crabs tried to pry the snails out. By the next day I had to get 5 new snails.

[hugoguillen]

Unfortunately, they were not molting. They were definetly dead crabs. I saw a little of their guts hanging out I went to the LFS and they explained that they sometimes pry each other out when looking for new shells. It was my fault for not putting in empty shells, but I had only bought them 3 weeks ago and didn't think they needed them already. I bought some shells and I have already seen 4 crabs upgrade their shacks. Thanks guys.

[WILLIAM1]

I Also Have A Bully Hermit Crab That Is Starting To Get Very Big Like He Is On Steriods Or Something. His Shell Is About 2" By 3" Now And He Is Still Growing. He Has Become A Bully In The Tank And Is Very Agressive.he Will Just Walk Over All The Polyps And Pick At Them. Should I Remove Him Or Not Will He Stop Messing With The Polyps Thats My Main Concern.

[jade4286]

i had a mix of red and blue hermies...yep civil war broke out and i think red won lmao