Emerald crab ate my zoas?

[Salty_Box_Reef]

My tank is new and only had two polyps of zoas that were hitchhikers from the rock I got from a friends tank. After my cycle I added a few snails and a emerald crab. All was well for about 4-5 days and then last night the crab ate the two polyps. Or I would assume its the crab but maybe the snail? They were both very small polyps so no biggie, but Im about to start stocking a few corals, and the first thing in will be a small colony of zoas. Should I evict the crab?

 

[Mike J.]

There are many reasons why your zoas disappeared, I wouldn't outright blame the Emerald Crab. Is there algae in your tank to sustain a crab?

 

[Salty_Box_Reef]

No bubble algae left but theres a a small amount of green algae on the rocks, a couple little patches of what looks like might be hair, and brown algae on the sandbed. The clown just went in last night so Im going to wait to feed him until later this evening. Hopefully the crab likes the newlife pellets for now, and then in about a week Ill get some frozen stuff with my 2nd clown when I get him.

 

[Reefing Madness]

Yea, the pellets for him will be cool, algae in the tank is a good sign that he has something to eat. I doubt it was the Crab, they won't eat the live coral unless he's starving, he was probably munching on the dead portion of the coral.

 

[Salty_Box_Reef]

just dropped a few pellets in and the crab went nuts for them. My nassarius snail popped right out of the sand for them too... The clown however wasnt crazy about them. Took a couple pellets in and just spit them back out.

 

[Reefing Madness]

I would only feed the pellets to the inverts, not the fish.

 

[Salty_Box_Reef]

what would you recomend for my juvenile true perc?

 

[Reefing Madness]

Mysis, Ocean Nutrition Flakes.