Seeing a hermit crab walk around without a shell may be one of the oddest sites you will ever see in your life. Your first thought may be that the crab is dying and needs help. However, the action of losing a shell is quite common for hermit crabs!
In this article, we will be going over why Hermit Crabs remove their shells. There are a ton of reasons why the crab completes the action. However, this article applies to all hermit crabs. This means that hermit crabs on land and sea can be identified in this article! Keep reading the article to find out more information on hermit crabs and how to make them happy!
What is a Hermit Crab?
A hermit crab is a four-legged creature that can be found on the sand and live rock of your aquarium. However, in the wild, hermit crabs can be found around the shore on rocks that are exposed under and over the water base. These hermit crabs tend to eat just about anything that falls to the bottom of your aquarium. During the day, they tend to graze on algae and fish waste that floats to the bottom and on your live rock. Hermit crabs make some of the best clean up crew members for any saltwater aquarium. If you go to your local fish store, make sure to purchase at least 30 hermit crabs at a time.
The hermit crab may be one of the cutest additions to your saltwater aquarium. The hermit crab has an appearance of a tiny shell and two eyes that can be found popping out. With their natural ability to eat waste and algae in the sand, these inverts are known as one of the best options for cleaning up.
Hermit crabs should always be handled with care. Crabs are a form of inverts, which means that they are sensitive to improper parameters. If you do not handle hermit crabs with care, they tend to slowly build up stress. The stress then causes illnesses and even death. Therefore it is crucial to keep a close eye on them. Even though they are cheap at your local fish store, they still have a right to live a happy life.
What is a Hermit Crab Shell?
The Hermit Crab’s shell acts as a home. When scared, the hermit crab uses the shell to provide safety from dangerous predators. For example, when you are scared at night, you tend to go to your home for rest and shelter. The same concept goes for a hermit crab and the shell! The shell also provides darkness for the hermit crab as they get tired at night. The same concept goes for humans! When you are tired during the day, you go to your room and close the blinds. You then proceed to take a nap to regain energy. We are quite similar to Hermit Crabs!
Why did the Crab Leave the Shell?
In this article, we will be going over the top possibilities that caused your snail to sink the ship. When a crab leaves the shell that currently homes the crab, do not think the worst. There are a ton of reasons why the crab ditched the smell. We will be going over the reasons now!
Needs a Larger Shell
The most common reason Hermit Crabs leave their shell is to find a larger one! You may find it hilarious to discover a naked hermit crab running across the bottom of your saltwater aquarium. However, this is your little hermit crab growing up and taking on the world! That is why it is crucial to leave many shells on the substrate of your aquarium. The extra shells leave options for the hermit crabs that are trying to find a new home. If a hermit crab can not find a large enough shell, it will die.
Other predator fish will mistake the hermit crab for food that is floating around your aquarium! Always conduct a proper count of the shells in your aquarium. Your local fish store might even throw in a bunch of free empty shells with the purchase of Hermit Crabs. It never hurts to ask! Next, we will be going over the more unfortunate reasons why Hermit Crabs leave their shells.
Too High of Temperature
When you get too hot in the summer, you tend to seek cold temperatures immediately. The same concept applies to hermit crabs! When your aquarium gets too hot, the hermit crabs leave the shells due to overheating. If overheating occurs, your aquarium is facing larger problems than just a hermit crab leaving the shell. If the temperatures in your aquarium are too high, fish in the tank will become highly stressed. High stress for fish means diseases, which results in your aquarium becoming dead. Make sure to purchase a thermometer to keep track of all the temperatures that are present in the aquarium. After purchasing an accurate thermometer, invest in a high-quality heater! Check out this article for some of the best heaters that the stores offer! If the temperature readings are accurate and you still have problems with your hermit crabs, keep reading!
Overall Stress
Like humans, crabs can get stressed! However, their stress is not from a 40 hour work week that consists of a mean boss. The stress from crabs can come from a ton of different sources. However, in this article, we will be going over the top 2 reasons that cause stress for hermit crabs!
The first cause of stress from hermit crabs is other predators constantly harming the crab. The constant beating up of the invert causes them to remove their shell and, in simple terms, commit suicide. This is quite rare, however, it has occurred many times. The constant stress can be unbarring for any aquatic species! That is why you should always keep a close eye on your aquarium to make sure all of the livestock is happy and healthy!
The second cause of stress for hermit crabs is unstable and poor water parameters in the aquarium. If your aquarium has poor water parameters, everything in the fish tank will suffer. First, the inverts will die, then the coral, and the hardy fish. It is crucial to test your water almost every week to make sure everything is accurate and proper for the livestock! Imagine if you were trapped in a glass box with poisonous air. How would you react? Would you react and go crazy to try to save yourself? That is what hermit crabs do when they are stressed. The crab finds any solution to escape the poor aquarium. Please test your water weekly as a minimum. Fish and inverts are living creatures and should be cared for delicately.
Parasites
The worse possible reason for your hermit crab leaving the shell is parasites taking over the body. The parasite taking over the body is similar to zombies! The parasite finds a host, which is the crab! Then it takes over the body of the crab and forces it to act in unusual behavior. An awkward behavior consists of the crab walking out of the shell and acting not like a crab. In this situation, the crab is already dead. The best solution for the crab is letting it die on its own. However, you can use parasite remover to increase the odds of the hermit crab living. Using parasite remover will also prevent other crabs from being infected. Always keep a close eye on your aquarium and ensure there are no parasites. Conduct water changes often to keep the saltwater aquarium fresh and healthy!
In Conclusion
In conclusion, the hermit crab requires a lot of eyes when there is no shell present. There are a ton of possible reasons as to why there is no shell present for the crab. However, to start, go to your local fish store and ask as many questions as possible to find immediate answers. If they have no response or suggestions, take matters into your own hands. Your saltwater aquarium is your baby. You have spent so many hours ensuring that the fish tank is healthy. Therefore, it takes more work to maintain the tank! Weigh all the options and study the solutions for the hermit crab often. After doing so, your hermit crabs should be healthy and happy! We hope you enjoyed the read. Send in pictures of your hermit crabs in your aquarium!
