CRAB not reef safe?

J

jgraeff

AC Members
Nov 3, 2008
11
0
0
36
hi guys i have a little crab that came on a piece of live rock and it has gotten a lot bigger but is still small. My tang has a pretty good size missing from his side and is almost dean i put it in the refuge and am trying to get it to come back. But my question is could it be that crab or my hermit crab or my blood shrimp?

its a 30g all i have is a pj cardinal, mimic tang, green mandarin gobi, Haitian anemone, and a pair of clarki clowns.

picture of small crab is attached.

also any advice for helping to nurse my tang back, feeding macro algae, formula 2 pellets and frozen, and mysis shrimp.

01-21-09_1349.jpg
 
I've never kept tangs myself, but essentially all crabs are to not be trusted. Unless they're an acro crab (and this isn't) I wouldn't consider it reef safe. Crabs are omnivores and will gladly eat any fish or coral they can get their claws on. This even includes common emerald crabs. Check out http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchcrabs.html for more info.
 
I was reading those emerald crabs are herbivores in early stages of life..as they mature they are more carnivorous. I have several around my reef.../knocks on wood... no corals have been missing yet...

Some report all is good with having emeralds in a tank...some people say the ones they have terrorize some of the soft corals they had.

I personally think that emerald crab (females small claws smaller bods) are good rock cleaners...but you can also just stick to getting Blue Leg hermits and Red legs to do the same job and be safe for reefs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom