Decorator crabs? Should I keep one?

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

I think a decorator crab would be a pretty cool addition, but I'm wondering what the risks might be. I have pretty much avoided adding any crabs to my tank so far because I know they can go rogue...how likely is this for the decorator? Are there any truly safe crabs I could keep in my tank?

 

[kapnkush608]

Had one when I first started. Super cool but much like an urchin everything has to be glued down. Lost a couple frags beyond the wall that way (behind the rockwork). Also, he clipped some frags off my zoa's which was cool until he would drop the polpys some where before I could glue them to a plug. He put some sponges on his back one day and they eventually grew over his body. It looked like it really limited his movement but he kept them on. After he died during my first crash I decided no more and also moved the urchin to the sump so I didn't have to deal with them rearranging my frag rack.

 

[fish farmer]

I got a decorator crab free once with some other goodies like sponges and gorgonian frags. I knew to keep watch since he was already covered in sponges. He attacked the gorgonians. A few days later he was on the other side of the tank wearing colt coral as a hat.

Banished to his own tank.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

I got a decorator crab free once with some other goodies like sponges and gorgonian frags. I knew to keep watch since he was already covered in sponges. He attacked the gorgonians. A few days later he was on the other side of the tank wearing colt coral as a hat.

Banished to his own tank.

Wow! He looks pretty large! Maybe I should rethink this...

 

[fish farmer]

Wow! He looks pretty large! Maybe I should rethink this...

The coral he is sitting on is golf ball sized. I think they get bigger.

 

[Kenneth Hooper]

I had one that stayed hidden all day and grew to the size of a tarantula covering my entire hand. One night he/she managed to land on top of a pyramid butterflyfish and proceeded to eat it.
It has since been moved to isolation

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

I had one that stayed hidden all day and grew to the size of a tarantula covering my entire hand. One night he/she managed to land on top of a pyramid butterflyfish and proceeded to eat it.
It has since been moved to isolation

Well...then that is a no go for me. LOL

 

[UCF Alum]

Check this out. It doubles as an air stone to keep the reef aerated. A little pricey, but at least you get an air stone and free shipping.