Ocean Hermit Crabs Habitat
According to Hermit Crabs Home, there are two different types of hermit crabs. One variety is the land hermit crab. These crustaceans are unable to live in water because their gills are modified to breathe air. The other type, marine hermit crabs, cannot live on land. Their gills are designed to collect dissolved oxygen from the water. Marine hermit crabs need a specialized habitat to survive.
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Habitat
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Animal Bytes explains that the marine hermit crab lives in a mild or a tropical environment. They can live either deep in the ocean or close to shore, and can often be found in tidal pools. The Animal Corner indicates that marine hermit crabs live in colonies of 100 or more crabs and do not do well in isolation.
Hermit crabs do not have a rigid carapace, or shell, like other species of crabs. They have soft abdomens and need additional protection from predators. The Chesapeake Bay Program indicates that both land and marine hermit crabs borrow empty snails from periwinkles and other types of ocean-dwelling snails.
Life Cycle
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Hermit crabs begin life as eggs. According to information found at the Chesapeake Bay Program, these creatures hatch as microscopic larvae called zoeae. The zoeae live on the ocean floor as plankton and are an important food source for fish and birds. As zoeae grow, they shed their exoskeleton. This process is called molting. After they molt several times, they change into another larval form called megalops. The megalops are still tiny, but they begin to look more like crabs at this stage. After molting, megalops emerge as juvenile hermit crabs that eventually molt and grow into adult crabs.
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Shells
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Animal Bytes mentions that when hermit crabs molt and grow, they often need new shells because the other one has become too small. They do not kill the creature that is living in the shell, but prefer to use empty shells instead. Sometimes, if there are not enough shells available, hermit crabs will steal shells from one another or will live in other structures such as coral or rocks. It may be difficult for the hermit crabs to grow or reproduce if there are not enough shells available.
Diet
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The Chesapeake Bay Program indicates that hermit crabs are omnivorous. They will eat algae, plankton, dead plants and animals, and other small bits of organic matter.
Keeping Pets
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The Hermit Crab Happy website says that marine hermit crabs are relatively easy to manage in captivity. They must stay in saltwater all the time, but they do not mind being handled as long as they are handled in the water. They will eat small bits of algae and food particles from the bottom of the tank. Marine hermit crabs can also be fed commercial crab food or small bits of chicken or turkey. It is important to leave them a variety of shells from which to choose, since they like to change shells often.
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References
- Photo Credit hermit crab image by alwayspp from Fotolia.com
