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View Full Version : Hermit Crab Spawning: Ever happened to you? It was my first.


philosophish
02/03/2010, 02:49 PM
Just curious how common it is to have hermit crabs spawn in your reefs. After seeing it happen, Im sure it must happen more often that it is seen.

This is what I saw.

I have a small 3g hospital tank that I transferred all my inverts to in preparation for a tank upgrade. I wanted to spot feed the only fish in the tank, a red mandarin. Out of the corner of my eye I see one of the scarlet crabs sticking out of its shell a bit more than usual and what looks to be food floating in the water. After a closer look, I see tiny shrimp like "pods" being shot out of the shell one by one as if it were a canon. After only a few seconds, a fire shrimp darts over to investigate and puts an end to the spawning. I have 3 shrimp, 1 cleaner , 2 fire, in the tank and they are a nuisance when it comes to food, which is why I spot feed the mandarin.

I saw numerous mini crabs twitching in the water column so I quickly turned off the lights and got the room as dark as possible to give the little guys the best chance to land and hide. Although probably pointless, I couldnt help wanting to even the odds for the little critters. I doubt Ill ever see one again, but weirder stuff has happened.

Amazing how a seemingly benign biological process can cause such a commotion and elation in the middle of the night :D

Has it happened to you?