>After basically ignoring them for several minutes, the hermit began
>to show some interest, and quicker than I could believe, zipped out
>of his current abode and into one of the offerings.

A happy ending! I dislike killing pagurids for the shell. Often I
find that if left out of the water for a while they may leave the
shell, or at least extend themselves far out of the aperture... then
you have the chance to gently remove them. I am not certain however
that they are not suffering a fatal degree of asphixiation by this
time...
--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin
New Zealand
Fossil preparator
<[log in to unmask]>
Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
To leave this list, click on the following web link:
http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
click leave the list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------