Blue Leg Hermit Crab eats Favia

[NicksTanks223]

This is so sad and unbelievable to me. I come home from working all day just to find one of my blue leg hermit crabs sitting on top of my favia munching away eating it. I’ve had this piece for so long and it had grown so much. It looks like a goner now since he will probably just find it again and finish it off. It’s hard to tell how big it was but this was my favorite piece in my tank. So unfortunate. I had no idea they could even eat corals with their little claws.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I watched my blue leg hermit eat my acan, I watched about 4 clawfulls to make sure what I was seeing was real. I sold lol of mine the next day

 

[NicksTanks223]

I watched my blue leg hermit eat my acan, I watched about 4 clawfulls to make sure what I was seeing was real. I sold lol of mine the next day

Yup they’re all going back to the store tomorrow. Hate for one to ruin it for all of them but I don’t think they even know where they are most of the time anyway

 

[chadfish]

"and that's why all the crabs are in the sump..."

 

[Dkmoo]

They are probably starving. They don't usually go after coral flesh unless one of the 2 happens - 1) the coral is already dying and they are cleaning away the dead flesh. 2) they are staving and there is not enough of other food (gha sprouts, munchies in the sand, pods, etc..)

If they naturally eats coral then you'd expect them to be "sea locusts" that wipe out entire colonies in the wild.

 

[rhostam]

Hi, I’ve seen shrimp do this. I read it was because the coral was probably I’ll or on its way out.

They are probably starving. They don't usually go after coral flesh unless one of the 2 happens - 1) the coral is already dying and they are cleaning away the dead flesh. 2) they are staving and there is not enough of other food (gha sprouts, munchies in the sand, pods, etc..)

If they naturally eats coral then you'd expect them to be "sea locusts" that wipe out entire colonies in the wild.

Peppermint shrimp do this, too. I imagine a host of other creatures would too, if driven to it.

 

[NicksTanks223]

They are probably starving. They don't usually go after coral flesh unless one of the 2 happens - 1) the coral is already dying and they are cleaning away the dead flesh. 2) they are staving and there is not enough of other food (gha sprouts, munchies in the sand, pods, etc..)

If they naturally eats coral then you'd expect them to be "sea locusts" that wipe out entire colonies in the wild.

They may be starving because when I feed pellets they come out from every direction trying to get the ones on the bottom lol. This may be a stupid question but do dying corals still grow? I’m asking this because my coral could’ve been dying and I didn’t know but it had grown a lot in the past 6 months.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

They are probably starving. They don't usually go after coral flesh unless one of the 2 happens - 1) the coral is already dying and they are cleaning away the dead flesh. 2) they are staving and there is not enough of other food (gha sprouts, munchies in the sand, pods, etc..)

If they naturally eats coral then you'd expect them to be "sea locusts" that wipe out entire colonies in the wild.

nothing in my tank is hungry, trust me. Those crabs are just pigs and eat anything all day long. My coral regenerated the eaten part and has since grown, so I dont think it was dying. Searching the net will show so many cases of crabs eating corals, to me its just not possible that all those cases fall into only 2 categories and nothing else, pas possible.

 

[Staghorn]

I would spot feed that Flavia. It should grow back, I know you said you’ve had it a long time. I take it you haven’t been feeding it, you will get more growth for sure.

 

[NicksTanks223]

I would spot feed that Flavia. It should grow back, I know you said you’ve had it a long time. I take it you haven’t been feeding it, you will get more growth for sure.

I feed it once a week, a special coral powder from my lfs and brine shrimp. It was a very small frag when I got it so it still seems really small in the picture