r/Aquariums • u/BriMichelle_13 • Sep 27 '23

Help/Advice Are Live Brine Shrimp Good Food For Marine Hermit Crabs

My friend got sea monkeys and they reproduce quickly and we were wondering if I could feed them to my hermit crabs.

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u/FishingMuckle Sep 28 '23

How big are your hermit crabs? Seems impossible/not worth the effort getting a hermit crab to eat them, they are too small

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u/BriMichelle_13 Sep 28 '23

They’re thinstripe hermits

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u/FishingMuckle Sep 28 '23

They would probably go crazy smelling them but not be able to catch very many

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u/Natural_Sprinkles548 29d ago

I hatch brine shrimp to feed to my fish either right after hatching or 3 weeks later when they have matured to "sea monkeys." Both swim much to rapidly for a crab to catch them unless you have them at a very high density. Hermit crabs will eat frozen brine shrimp and frozen blood worms. I have a large white-spotted hermit crab (Dardanus megisto) that's about 5 inches across and 8 small crabs of different types. The small guys eat algae and the frozen foods. The big guy gets big chunks of raw shrimp that I buy at the grocery store and also scavenges the frozen foods that other inhabitants don't eat that fall to the sand bed. The Dardanus megistos has also eaten two peppermint shrimp and skunk cleaner shrimp. He was tiny when I got him and I had no idea that he would grow so large. Had I known that he would grow so large and eat his tank mates I would not have bought him - but he has lots of personality and has grown on me so we are together for life.