I kinda neglected my hermit crabs since i got into goldies but today i just went to my LFS to look at a ranchu i was fond of but unfortunately the tank he was in was full of sick fish. Disappointed, I went to the hermit crab tank just to have a look and to my surprise i found a strawberry!!!!

It's the first time I've seen a strawberry in western australia (might even be the first ever imported here). Apparently the marine fish guy ordered them thinking they're marine hermits and when the shipment came he put them in the marine tank and almost drowned them luckily he felt something was wrong and placed them with their fellow hermits.

The crab's a bit pricey though (30 aussie dollars) but it reignited my passion for hermies again. And would you believe the strawberry changed shell inside 5 minutes after i placed him in my tank now he's in a pretty mother-of-pearl turbo shell.

The only downside of the whole experience was just now when i was washing my hermie tank to welcome the strawberry, the bottom glass cracked i gotta buy a new one. the hermies are in a temporary plastic tub now.

pics of the strawberry to follow soon

*anxiously waiting for pics* Haven't seen a strawberry hermit crab but they sound gorgeous...Congrats!

Not to sound like and idiot but what is is difference between a strawberry hermit and other hermits. I know absolutely nothing about hermit crabs other that they change shells when they out grow thier old ones. Any place you can point me for info?

There are several species of hermit crabs, and strawberry hermit (Coenobita perlatus) is only one of them . I usually only get the australian hermit crab (Coenobita variabilis) here in western aussie so encountering a strawberry is very exciting .

This link for more info on the different species:
http://www.crabstreetjournal.com/species/wide.htm


And finally some pics of my strawberry sorry he's sleepy, very hard to tease him out. Hope u know why he's called strawberry




The beautiful mother-of-pearl turbo shell he just changed into






A-hah I'm nearing 1000 posts!!

Awesome! My corn is getting a 20 gallon tank, so I was planning on converting the 10 to a hermie tank. I just got a peice of plexie to make a lid.

He is so cute! And what a pretty shell he has. Did you name him yet?

Thx Chishower
Nah I haven't named him yet. Gotta choose a perfect name for him

He looks awesome and I'm sure he's loving his new home Thanks for the pics!

Thats cool, I see why they're called strawberry hermits, the kind look like a straberry. Cool pics, I can see why you love them, their awesome little critters.

Strawberries are cool d_golem! I know what you mean with the neglect thingy... I've done the same.. but I also realized they don't require as much attention as goldies do so don't feel bad. I hope you enjoy your new Strawberry!

Oh what cute little eyes!!! I want one :3

ooo!!! hes soooo cute!!

OHHHHHHHHHH congrats!!!!
he is so CUTE and DEFINITELY properly named!

a couple more pics of my new strawberry

omg!! hes gorgous!!!!!!!

He looks very happy in his new home

I finally got a pair of hermies! They are just PP's, though, nothing so pretty as your straw.

What are pps? I still demand pics, all hermies are cute

pp: purple pincher. I will take some pictures later, I reeeeeally dont want to bother them. Lots of hermies dont make it from post purchase stress, and I have to make sure neither one is PMS - pre molt.

But I promise I will get some photos up in the next few days.

WOW golem! So cute! Ive never seen one before. Bet you are dancing for joy!!

Okay Andy, I can wait Pre Molt Syndrome huh? lol..

Congrats on your new hermies as well

Ooh i love hermies! I never saw a strawberry one before.Actually never heard of them. Nice hermit.

Your Strawberry is so CUTE! What did its old shell is moved out of look like?

Aaawwww.... Your Hermie is sooooo adorable! Thanks for sharing the pics!!

The old shell was I think a pretty worn out green turbo just a tad smaller than the one he's in now. I was pretty shocked how fast he changed shell! Right after I put it in the tank, he looked around for a minute or two, found his current shell, checked it out for about 5 minutes, then Slosh! in he went! lol i've never seen a hermie tummy that big so much for post-purchase stress hehe

Aaa Chrishower I want a PP hehehe too bad we are only allowed only Australian species here I wanna an Indonesian hermit alsoooo

PS: My strawberry is verrrryyy stroooong! I can't take him off anything he's holding (including my finger lol) no matter how hard I tried without ripping his body apart

Really? Lucky. All we get here are PP's, sometimes you can find an E or those grey ones, and very rarely a straw. Arent indos and PP very similar?

I would ship you one if I could figure out how to get it out of the country...

I found Indos are more varied in colour and its BP is a tad bigger.

Lol i guess u can put it in ur pocket and the sensors at the airport wont pick it up (i hope) but it's too risky hehe u can get fined thousands of dollars (Australian custom is verrryyy tight)!! I'm thinking of smuggling one Indo from Indonesia to Australia in my pocket but am afraid being found out lol

The hermits here are in pretty sorry shape, too. I got the best two, and the smaller is missing a leg, and the larger is missing a few leg tips and half his feeder claw. *Sighs*

Some good food, water, and a molt should get them back into shape, though!

If I ever end up on your half of the world then, I will be sure to pack a few hermies with me.

Guard: Why is your pocket moving?
Me: Uhmmm...*runs*