How many crabs are to many?

[Renee]

I have a 9 gal. In it there are 4 dwarf hermits. 1 regular hermit. 2 Emerald crabs and now I found a hitchhiker in my polyp rock of unknown specis. I've lost one cleaner shrimp already and a turbo snail. Do I need this many? Thanks so much!

[Gringoloco]

I would say that is plenty for cleaning the tank. As far as of the emerald's they are like playing with fire some are reef safe, and others are not. Since you do have intentions of keeping corals I would recommend not keeping the emeralds in there with a reef tank. The hitchhiker crab, can you get a pic of it, or do you know the exact species it is. Alot of hitchhiker crabs are generally not reef safe and will attack tank mates. Also do you have any whelks in your tank? A whelk is a vicous snail that actually preys on fleshy tissues, ie clams, coral, fish, etc. Here is a link to what a whelk looks like:

http://melevsreef.com/id/

scroll down till you get to Snails, Crabs, Shrimp & Pods, click on the picture in the second row all the way to the right. This page also has some information on the emerald crab too.

[MikeS]

That's quite a few crabs for a 9 gallon.

I'd for sure remove the hitchiker..., most of them are pretty hard on the coral. Better safe than sorry on that one. I also think that's too may hermits, in a 9 gal, I'd keep only one of them. They can also tend to get pretty omnivorous.

As for the emerald, one is plenty for a 9 gal, like gringoloco said, keep your eye on him.

Mike

[Renee]

Thanks guys. I will trade in my emeralds for something else. I have noticed them eating the new growth off my polyp rock! The hermit drags his shell everywhere. :evil: I think I will keep only the dwarfs. As for the hitchiker crab. He always hides when I try to look, he is really small. Almost translucent in appearance. He has no shell.