Silly Scarlet Hermits

[Lyss]

This is just a post to honor the silliness of the two scarlet hermits I have in my tank, whose antics I get a kick out of watching.

Both have been shell shopping for the past few weeks resulting in a few funny battles I’ve had to police, so I dropped a handful of larger shells in the tank — some were noticeably too big IMO, but I thought that might help the good-sized ones already in the tank look more attractive.

Well, this enormous new shell in particular got a lot of interest from both crabs but neither pulled the trigger. One of the crabs kept coming back to it on the daily and inspecting every crack, crevice and detail, but then would ultimately leave it… Until yesterday.

Yesterday the crab I call Miss Coco took the shell! It’s huge! You can’t see the crab from under it, so it just looks like a ghostly moving shell, and the crab can barely drag it a few inches before it has to stop and rest. It took about a half hour to get up this rock, then sat there overnight.

I’m assuming it will molt to fill out this enormous shell a bit better?

 

[KrisReef]

That's a crab McMansion.

 

[flyingscampi]

My hermit is dragging round a shell nearly the size of golf ball. It's easy to underestimate the size of the shells they prefer!

Hermits add a lot of character to the aquarium (as well as eating all the GHA.)

 

[Lyss]

Here's another pic lol

It fell off the rock today and just kinda lay there upside down for a bit, then rolled around until it was able to right itself.

Edit: I was amazed at how carefully it inspected the shell over the course of days before it made the decision to switch.

 

[hllb]

Here's another pic lol

It fell off the rock today and just kinda lay there upside down for a bit, then rolled around until it was able to right itself.

Edit: I was amazed at how carefully it inspected the shell over the course of days before it made the decision to switch.

I've never noticed my small hermits inspecting shells this way, but my Halloween hermits make it an artform! They're big, so they pick up the shell and spin it around, feeling every crevice. Then they'll get into and out of it multiple times testing it out. It's really interesting to watch.

 

[Lyss]

I've never noticed my small hermits inspecting shells this way, but my Halloween hermits make it an artform! They're big, so they pick up the shell and spin it around, feeling every crevice. Then they'll get into and out of it multiple times testing it out. It's really interesting to watch.

That's what this one did! I was definitely surprised to see a scarlet hermit do that, and watching it come back to the shell three or four days in a row was fascinating. It did move it and spin the shell, and touch all the parts of it that make it unique -- I'd seen it doing that with two other shells as well, but this was the one it ultimately chose.

 

[flyingscampi]

Here's another pic lol

It fell off the rock today and just kinda lay there upside down for a bit, then rolled around until it was able to right itself.

Edit: I was amazed at how carefully it inspected the shell over the course of days before it made the decision to switch.

Mine scuttles straight over to inspect any new shells I drop in. In this video he swaps shells at 2:30:

 

[hllb]

This thread just reminded me of the funniest thing I ever saw. One poor hermit in my tank tried to do a shell swap in front of my gyre. Looking at my tank after lights out one night, I see this poor shell-less hermit stuck in a circle of water, just spinning around uncontrollably. I had never seen one without a shell before - CREEPY. I turned the pumps off and grabbed a nearby shell for him. He climbed right in and looked much happier LOL.

 

[Lyss]

Mine scuttles straight over to inspect any new shells I drop in. In this video he swaps shells at 2:30:

I like how it still holds on to the old shell for a bit, like keeping claim of it in case it changes its mind.

 

[homer1475]

I've had 2 scarlet hermits that are reaching 5 years old. Even though I have thrown shells in for them, they have never changed their shells. They have never killed a snail for it's shell either, least I have never seen them wearing a snail shell. They still have the same shells they did 5 years ago.

 

[Lyss]

I've had 2 scarlet hermits that are reaching 5 years old. Even though I have thrown shells in for them, they have never changed their shells. They have never killed a snail for it's shell either, least I have never seen them wearing a snail shell. They still have the same shells they did 5 years ago.

I was really hoping for this outcome. But mine want new shells, and make it pretty obvious when they do. They're also particular about the shells they will take. Most recently one was trying to get the shell of the other, and I caught them locked in battle a few times over that (they look pretty silly when they first start fighting b/c they wave their claws at each other). They have plenty to choose from in there but alas. I got sick of policing that so I threw in more shells. The one this hermit took is really large -- I'm still surprised the crab took it.