Rick Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 If anyone has tried to find shells for hermits at the LFS then you probably found as I did that most (if not all) do not carry them. Usually you can get a few tossed in when you buy hermits but otherwise it is hard to find them. When I was at the beach a few weeks ago I checked the local tourist shops and while they had them they were pretty spendy. I did pick up $5 worth of the larger shells which got me 8 or 10 shells but that was only after searching several shops. When I was out today though I was near the Dollar Tree so I ran in to get some Super Glue Gel and when I was walking down the isle I spotted 14 oz. bags of Decorator Shells. I saw these same bags at the beach for $20 or so. I picked through the bags a bit to find one with as many snail shells as I could find and paid $1 for it. I brought them home and put everything except the small broken pieces in boiling water for about 10 minutes. Here is what I ended up with for the $1 I spent. Not too much for larger shells but there is a pretty good variety for the hermits to pick through if they are smaller ones. The shells on the left I'll toss into the sump and maybe use them later to glue frags onto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClayTheSavageFraser Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 Holy Cow!!! Score!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted July 29, 2009 Author Share Posted July 29, 2009 Yep, I thought I would pass it on since it isn't anyplace I would have thought to check. Not sure if all of them have them or not. (These were at the one by Mall 205 for anyone local) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate213 Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 Rick, Im sure glad you boiled them first. I read on another forum about several people crashing their tanks because of suspected residual chemicals on these pre-packaged shells. Great find by the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted July 29, 2009 Author Share Posted July 29, 2009 Maybe I'll boil them again then before I put them in. There was a residue of sand and/or dirt left in the pan afterwards. I'm holding off to put them in until later today since I may be taking all of the hermits out of one of the tanks. (plotting) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny503 Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Rick, I never have hermits, so i really dont know the reason for the hermit shells. Maybe you can explain to me what are they for? Thanks in advance. Benny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Hey If my hermits cant find a good home then they just get eaten and the next one gets that shell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted July 30, 2009 Author Share Posted July 30, 2009 Rick, I never have hermits, so i really dont know the reason for the hermit shells. Maybe you can explain to me what are they for? Thanks in advance. Benny When they outgrow their shell (Not the snail shells but the shell around their body) they molt and get bigger. When they do they need to have a larger shell to fit into. They go around looking for shells that might feel right and will even try them out. (Fun to watch them jump out of one shell and back into another shell) If they can't find one eventually they will grow too big and die for one reason or another. I have one electric blue hermit that started in a shell about 3/4 wide about 4 months ago and is now in a shell about 1 3/4" wide. (He is huge compared to when I got him) Also if they can't find an empty one then they will try to steal one if they can. This could either be another hermit or they will also kill snails to steal their shell. The ones I picked up yesterday will not work for a few of my hermits but I still have some that are small enough they could use some of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny503 Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Wow, that is amazing. I never think of that. Thank you so much for your explain... I just learn something new... now I am heading to youtube try to find a video of hermit trying their new shell :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny503 Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Here is a link to hermit changing shell from youtube... its amazing that youtube have everything I want to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted July 30, 2009 Author Share Posted July 30, 2009 Here is a link to hermit changing shell from youtube... its amazing that youtube have everything I want to see. That one was a land hermit but it looked pretty much the same. I quite often seeing them going from shell to shell looking them over. They will flip the shell around looking over the outside first and then poke their head into the opening. Once in awhile they will hop into a new shell for a few seconds and then turn around and put the old one back on. Once they find the one they are happy with then they go about their business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny503 Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Sound very interesting. I will try to get some hermits, now I am going to do research about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undrtkr_00 Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 I recently had one in my 29g tank that went around with no shell for a day or so. Dunno why - there were plenty of shells big enough for him. They sure are funny looking without a shell. Look like some kind of alien from a movie. Another good source for noobs to get some spare shells is from people who have had tanks up and running for a long time. It is pretty typical for snails and hermits to have relatively short life spans in the tank (often <1 yr), so established tanks often have gobs of extra shells lying around - I know mine does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.