Electric blue hermit eating corals

[nickp9054]

I got an electric blue hermit crab for my 30 gal nano. I noticed a lot of my lps not doing so well/ have bite marks recently. Anyone have experience with electric hermits eating corals? What should I do? I don’t have another tanks or a different place to put him.

 

[Nigel35]

If he indeed is eating coral which is highly unusual... Take him out and give him to the LFS. But I have a very hard time believing that a hermit would eat a coral. What other kinds of animals you have in your tank?

Nigel

 

[nickp9054]

Nothing that would be eating coral I think
A few astea snails, turbo snails, also some scarlet reef hermits
I have a pistol/goby pair but shrimp doesn’t come out of the cave much

 

[tjohnson3]

I’ve seen them do it, but only to coral that already have problems… they’ll eat the dying tissue and mow as they go. I’ve never seen or heard of them targeting coral directly as a food source

 

[Mastiffsrule]

They are probably cleaning it as tjohnson said. Do you have a little sump or divider you can put him in for a while?

A good idea is to get one of those blueberry or strawberry baskets that are plastic with the holes from the store. Something with holes small enough he cannot fit thru, Them clean it really well, turn it upside down and use it as a cage in the sand to house the crab if you can catch it. See if the issue continues while the guy is contained.

 

[PR_nano]

Not an Electic Blue but I had a Scarlet hermit munch on a Pipe Organ red skeleton.

 

[nickp9054]

Yeah, lfs agreed to take them I should be set

 

[nickp9054]

Thanks for all the help!