Hermit Crab Replacement Shell Preparation

[teresamcafee]

Can someone tell me what I need to do (if anything) to shells before placing them in my reef tank? I have a couple of hermits and I would like to encourage them to use the shells I provide as opposed to killing my snails. I have some empty shells from snails that died and I have tons of shells I have bought for decorations or have collected on the various beaches.

 

[saltyphish]

Clean and toss them in. When I bought my hermits I bought a couple bags of extra shells and just tossed them in. The crabs checked them out and started the swapping scheme for the next month or so. It was funny to watch they would try shells way to large or too small of a shell and swap back and forth sometimes multiple times. It is neat to watch. Fortunately, I have no snail casualties either.

 

[Squishie89]

I just rinse in freshwater before throwing them in. Do not add any painted shells to your tank.

 

[teresamcafee]

Thanks for the replies! Sounds fun to watch.