Halloween Hermit Special

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Halloween Hermits are members of the Ciliopagurus genus, all the species of which are picky about what snail shells they will move into. They like the shape of cone shells, and are nearly always found in them, with olive shells and mitre shells a distant second. These homes are particularly suited for their wide, short and flat bodies. We now have these shells in stock, so you don't have to hunt them down on your own. It took months of marketing research to realize this was a good idea that would save you time, and we are kicking it all off with a free cone shell assortment today with every Halloween Hermit purchase, our treat.

You can find our Halloween Hermits Here.

 

[clm65]

Awesome looking crabs! I may need to get a few...

I was looking around your website and noticed a lot of your critters are listed as eating cyano. Which are considered the best at this?

 

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It depends on the species of cyano really, do you have a picture by any chance? Thick carpet cyano I don't have a solution in stock for at the moment. (Ragged Sea hares will eat it)

 

[clm65]

It depends on the species of cyano really, do you have a picture by any chance? Thick carpet cyano I don't have a solution in stock for at the moment. (Ragged Sea hares will eat it)

No pictures right now, but it is the kind of cyano that when placed in a cup with some hydrogen peroxide added, the water turns pink. Not sure if that helps. I can get some pictures in a few days - I vacuumed it all up yesterday, and it takes a few days to come back.

 

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If you get one later I can check it out for you.

 

[Hermie]

Hi, great products! One question for ya, any idea why Halloween hermits are generally more available than Electric Blue (C. Elegans) ?

 

[BloopFish]

Are the micro decorator crab reef safe? And also, will they eat my macro algae?

 

[reefcleaners Verified Sponsor]

Hi, great products! One question for ya, any idea why Halloween hermits are generally more available than Electric Blue (C. Elegans) ?

Not sure, I haven't been to the tropical portion of the Pacific Ocean. My guess is they require calm water conditions to see, they seem to be out of stock for months at a time.

 

[reefcleaners Verified Sponsor]

Are the micro decorator crab reef safe? And also, will they eat my macro algae?

They may wear pieces of algae/sponge/tunicates etc.. from your tank. Sometimes even a zoa. I think that is cool, but some people do not.

 

[BloopFish]

Hi, great products! One question for ya, any idea why Halloween hermits are generally more available than Electric Blue (C. Elegans) ?

You might be confusing the halloween hermit crab they sell for Calcinus pictus, they actually sell Ciliopagurus strigatus they are both, confusingly, called halloween hermit crab. In fact, I'd say that Calcinus pictus is actually harder to find in the trade than the electric blue (Calcinus elegans) because Calcinus pictus is endemic to Hawaii and thus is only exclusively found there. Whats even more confusing is that some people incorrectly group Calcinus elegans and Calcinus pictus together as color variants, but this is incorrect because recently they have been named separate species

 

[Hermie]

You might be confusing the halloween hermit crab they sell for Calcinus pictus, they actually sell Ciliopagurus strigatus they are both, confusingly, called halloween hermit crab. In fact, I'd say that Calcinus pictus is actually harder to find in the trade than the electric blue (Calcinus elegans) because Calcinus pictus is endemic to Hawaii and thus is only exclusively found there. Whats even more confusing is that some people incorrectly group Calcinus elegans and Calcinus pictus together as color variants, but this is incorrect because recently they have been named separate species

Not confused, I did not know C. pictus existed! lol This was enlightening thank you
And now that you mention it... C. pictus is on my list to watch out for :)

 

[Waynerock]

Halloween Hermits are members of the Ciliopagurus genus, all the species of which are picky about what snail shells they will move into. They like the shape of cone shells, and are nearly always found in them, with olive shells and mitre shells a distant second. These homes are particularly suited for their wide, short and flat bodies. We now have these shells in stock, so you don't have to hunt them down on your own. It took months of marketing research to realize this was a good idea that would save you time, and we are kicking it all off with a free cone shell assortment today with every Halloween Hermit purchase, our treat.

You can find our Halloween Hermits Here.

Who can say no to those cute little guys just placed my order!!

 

[reefcleaners Verified Sponsor]

Thank you!

Not confused, I did not know C. pictus existed! lol This was enlightening thank you
And now that you mention it... C. pictus is on my list to watch out for :)

I sometimes get them in. They are often sold with or as zebra hermits by wholesalers. The Zebras are a different black and white species from the same genus. I get some every blue moon and put them in the assorted hermits, very blue moon though.

 

[BloopFish]

Thank you!



I sometimes get them in. They are often sold with or as zebra hermits by wholesalers. The Zebras are a different black and white species from the same genus. I get some every blue moon and put them in the assorted hermits, very blue moon though.

That makes a lot of sense. The people who collect those zebra hermit crabs most likely do it from the tidepools where they are very plentiful. However, the orange and black hermit crabs don't actually commonly reside in the tidepool, usually slightly deeper. However, sometimes they do end up being washed up into the tidepools where they may end up being a "bycatch." When I used to live in Hawaii, I had this secret spot where Calcinus pictus would sometimes wash up onto. This spot would constantly be drained and filled by the waves so it makes sense they sometimes got trapped there. Outside of this spot, the Calcinus pictus would be pretty uncommon. They likely get too outcompeted by the hardier and more aggressive zebra hermits in the tough tidepool environment.

 

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Oh cool, that has to be it then. Sorting hermits.....or skipping it and selling them in a mix.....ahh...I know a little about that myself. :) I wonder if you recorded the dates they came to shallow water if it was regular. Like maybe they went on a march nearshore, and then some of those got swept in. At least some species of hermits here appear to migrate with a regular schedule. We know of spots that will be empty all year until the winter solstice, and then it will be covered for a two week period, then back to normal again. Most areas are more regular, but I think this gathering is related to a spawning event. I wish I could be a scientist and just sit, watch and track without needing to pass a hard science class in college.

 

[clm65]

If you get one later I can check it out for you.

Sorry, I got impatient and just placed an order so that I can get on next week’s delivery schedule. We’ll see if any of the ones I ordered touch the cyano.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Cool!!

 

[clm65]

Received my order today...awesome crabs and snails! Well packaged, and probably the most inexpensive shipping I have seen on live critters! I’ll be back!

Edit: and thanks for the extras!

 

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You're welcome!