Decorator Crab Yes or No?

[Ezreal]

SO I have a 14g Nano Reef, very clean but I currently have some soft corals and will eventually cater to NPS. Im wondering if a decorator crab will be safe for a tank like that, the corals that they use for camo do they damage the colony?

 

[MombasaLionfish]

I love decorator crabs I have one. As long as you keep anything precious off of the ground and give it some halimitia to play with it should be fine

 

[MombasaLionfish]

Also Decorators need lots of hiding places and mine eats algae pellets and cut up shrimp.

 

[Ezreal]

Also Decorators need lots of hiding places and mine eats algae pellets and cut up shrimp.

I dont have much in the way of algae for it just lots of very stringy chaeto. I have some hiding spots but not much to bother crab. Just one blue leg and a blue damsel

 

[MombasaLionfish]

Chaeto probably will work if you put it where it can reach it but mine prefers to rip up my halimitya yours may be different though, I have a spider decorator crab they are the ones with a tiny mustache.

 

[MombasaLionfish]

Here is mine it facing sideways you cannot see the mustache.

 

[MombasaLionfish]

Here is another one with a mustache.

 

[KirstenB]

I had a decorator crab tear up most of my reef. He loves any soft coral and by the 3rd day on my tank my reef was on his body. Needless to say he went immediately back to the LFS. Thought he'd pick a few and leave most ... but no... he took full corals. And then there's the face that they look like a tarantula. Ewww.