hermit crab eating zoos

[rxx2]

anyone ever see hermits crabs eat your zoos?
i had about 10 polyps of cateyes that were not opening. got home from work and the rock they were on was turned over. put it back. after getting back from dinner saw a hermit (red legs) tearing pieces of the zoo off and eating it. now there's only about 2 polyps left.

[Reef Bass]

Sorry for your loss. My guess would be the zoos were dying and the hermit was doing his clean up thing.

[rxx2]

I pulled that hermit out and another with similar looking legs. The two polyps are still there. I hope they pull through.

[george albert]

+1 on what reef bass said
usually if the hermit is eating the zoo or play its already dead

[650-IS350]

Is the hermit in question a true scarlet hermit or a RED hermit with some hair on its legs that's NOT reefsafe but sold by some as reefsafe?

[geoxman]

+1 to the baseball goonie...or whatever his avatar is??

[Guygettnby]

i have seen my blue legs finish destroying a few differents frags that were already on there way out the door. but i have never had hermits eat a healthy zoa or paly.

also +1 on what 650-IS350 said. i see 1 of my local fish stores selling hermits that they say are scarlet hermits and they are not. check into that as well.

[650-IS350]

LOL Geo... its Jack from " NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS " LOL

The problem sometimes is that some people just sell what looks nice. Some of these so called reefsafe hermits that have hairy legs or spikey stuff growing on the legs, these guys usually grow rather large, eat anything they can get their claws on be it coral, other inverts or your prized fish.

[rxx2]

Thanks for all the comments.
Got back home and the rock was clean. Not a trace in sight. I've banished some of the larger and suspect looking ones to the refugium.

[geoxman]

I thought it was some west coast juiced up Barry Bonds baseball!
Good luck with the hermits.....they are all evil! IMHO