Aiptaisia or pom pom?

[bubsee]

Hi there.

I've had a pom pom crab for around 6 months, but when I got it, it had no pom poms. To my great surprise, yesterday I saw it carrying around something in its claw. Is there a way it could've gotten ahold of another pom pom or is this a pest I should be worried about? I'm a newbie, and to my knowledge I haven't seen any aiptaisia in my tank, but is this what I think it is? Sorry the pics aren't great, I don't have a lens for my phone.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[TnFishwater98]

Looks like it. Would need better pics with blues off. Doesn’t look like the typical Pom Pom

 

[mdb_talon]

Well pop pom crabs carry around anenomes generally. If it did not bring any to the tank with it then likely it has grabbed an aiptasia

 

[bubsee]

Looks like it. Would need better pics with blues off. Doesn’t look like the typical Pom Pom

Well pop pom crabs carry around anenomes generally. If it did not bring any to the tank with it then likely it has grabbed an aiptasia

Thank you both for the quick reply.

Here is the best picture I can get of it. If it is aiptasia, how should I go about trying to remove it? This little crab is so fast!

 

[MaxTremors]

Thank you both for the quick reply.

Here is the best picture I can get of it. If it is aiptasia, how should I go about trying to remove it? This little crab is so fast!

I wouldn’t. You’re likely to injure it, plus, from what I understand they need an anemone to catch stuff out of the water column to eat.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Wow- Challenge question, but looking at some Pom Pom pics- im thinking Poms- just not the common fluffy version

 

[TnFishwater98]

Thank you both for the quick reply.

Here is the best picture I can get of it. If it is aiptasia, how should I go about trying to remove it? This little crab is so fast!

Great hider and very fast. GL. That’s almost worst case scenario

 

[TnFishwater98]

If you have 2 Pom Pom crabs and one is missing Pom Poms one will split their Pom in 2 and drop one for the other to use. As the anemone grows that PP Crab will divide his to have one on each claw. When they molt they drop their Poms and retrieve after.

 

[KMCA]

I can't tell if my pom pom still has his pom or not. only one made it through shipping and when I saw him for the first time since I got him I couldn't tell if he had something in the one claw or not.

Stressful is a word for it. I might pick up a second one from my supplier in a couple weeks just to be safe... if my gobi doesn't kill him first. I swear the second my pistol started digging trenches my gobi decided that the entire tank is his and has been bullying the forktail and just had a go at the pom pom that I intercepted with a net when he got his aggressive face on near it.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Typical pom poms which are anemones. They might lose an anemone during molting as this is the only time where they put their anemones down. Thankfully, pom-pom crabs don’t need their anemones to survive and can live happy and healthy without them. However, they do prefer to have their anemones.
Because of this, the crabs are known to frag their one remaining anemone and creating another anemone! Both anemones will survive and grow to a bigger size.

 

[Ghost25]

Doesn't quite look like aptasia to me, aptasia tends to have linger, thinner tentacles than that. Typically pom-pom crabs have Triactis producta anemones, and I would guess they are relatively inflexible with regards to their choice of species.

 

[SlugSnorter]

Hi there.

I've had a pom pom crab for around 6 months, but when I got it, it had no pom poms. To my great surprise, yesterday I saw it carrying around something in its claw. Is there a way it could've gotten ahold of another pom pom or is this a pest I should be worried about? I'm a newbie, and to my knowledge I haven't seen any aiptaisia in my tank, but is this what I think it is? Sorry the pics aren't great, I don't have a lens for my phone.

Any help is appreciated.

they can clone their pom poms, in fact, its thought that the pom poms they hold are always clones, there may have just been enough left on its claws for it to grow a new one

 

[SlugSnorter]

Well pop pom crabs carry around anenomes generally. If it did not bring any to the tank with it then likely it has grabbed an aiptasia

they can clone a nem and grow them on their claws, they cannot just use any species of nem though

 

[mdb_talon]

they can clone a nem and grow them on their claws, they cannot just use any species of nem though

Yes if they have an anenome they can clone it and in the wild they are are almost always seen with a specific type of anenome. That doss not at all mean they cant or wont use other anenomes and there are many examples of them using other anenomes in captivity.

In this case of it came into the tank without an anenome and now has them it must have been found in the tank. They can force it to split.....but they dont have any magic to generate one from nothing.

 

[TnFishwater98]

Yes if you have 2 Pom Poms and 1 is missing Pom Pom’s the other Pom Pom crab will divide theirs and drop one for the other….Or if you have 1 Pom Pom crab and he/she only has 1 Pom Pom they will cut the Pom Pom in half and use it for the other claw. The anemone will grow .

 

[TnFishwater98]

Harder than Waldo to find most of the time but very cool crabs. Saw mine the other day and it’s been awhile.

 

[TnFishwater98]

Harder than Waldo to find most of the time but very cool crabs. Saw mine the other day and it’s been awhile.

When they are getting ready to molt they drop Pom Pom’s and come back and get them

 

[SlugSnorter]

Yes if they have an anenome they can clone it and in the wild they are are almost always seen with a specific type of anenome. That doss not at all mean they cant or wont use other anenomes and there are many examples of them using other anenomes in captivity.

In this case of it came into the tank without an anenome and now has them it must have been found in the tank. They can force it to split.....but they dont have any magic to generate one from nothing.

Has to be of a compatible species, once again cannot be any anemone, also they can grow larval tiny nems that may have still been able to grow

 

[mdb_talon]

Has to be of a compatible species, once again cannot be any anemone, also they can grow larval tiny nems that may have still been able to grow

Still trying to understand what your point is. Have seen multiple examples of them using aiptasia in aquarium setting. Never claimed they could use every possible species of anenome.

 

[SlugSnorter]

Still trying to understand what your point is. Have seen multiple examples of them using aiptasia in aquarium setting. Never claimed they could use every possible species of anenome.

mind pointing me the way of one that has? I never have seen that behavior before!