Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Riding their dinner

 Pair o' hermits ...

L. Grainy-hand hermit, Pagurus granosimanus. R. Hairy hermit, Pagurus hirsutiusculus. On kelp float.

I brought home a large float of bull kelp and added half of it to the aquarium. This photo is a couple of days later. Before the week was out, the hermits and crabs had eaten it all.

Old shells grow assorted species of algae. The hermit on the left is using a shell growing pink and green fuzz, which has attracted a couple of limpets. The hermits never seem to mind the extra weight; one is running about carrying an anemone almost as big as he is. Weight works differently underwater.

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Dos cangrejos ermitaños; el de la izquierda es un ermitaño Pagurus de mano granulada. A la derecha, su amigo Pagurus peludo. Están parados en un flotador grande de kelp que traje a casa, corté a la mitad, y añadí al acuario. Dentro de una semana los ermitaños y los cangrejos se lo habían comido todo.

Las conchas viejas que usan los ermitaños atraen varias especies de alga marina. El ermitaño a la izquierda trae una concha pintada con algas color de rosa y de verde claro, y dos lapas se le han subido para comer el alga. Los ermitaños no parecen tener problema con el peso de más; hay uno que anda por ahí cargando una anémona casi tan grande como el ermitaño mismo. Las cosas pesan menos bajo el agua.

2 comments:

  1. Do you get snail fur on the west coast? The right hermit looks a little like it has it, though I've never seen it on live hermits, only empty shells.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd never heard of snail fur! I've spent the whole day looking for it in my tank and in 5 year's worth of hermit photos. Found something. Next post ...

      Delete

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