Emerald Crab - Yes or No?

[RaymondL]

Jumping on here to get more opinions on whether getting Emerald Crabs are a good or bad thing? What mostly should their diet be, and if my tank is still new, should I be waiting to get if I decide on?

Thanks

 

[LosReef]

They become a problem when they get bigger IME. They can carve out patches in your zoas. Not sure if they're eating them, but definitely chopping them off the rock. I saw it with my own eyes. Lol

 

[Liza_casella]

I have 1 emerald crab in my 45 gallon, I absolutely love him! Never causes any problems, he was also one of the first that I put in my tank after cycling. He does an amazing job picking at the rocks and keeping them clean!

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

They have been bad for me. Im been forced to suicide a few of them (err..I mean, the cameras somehow were turned off and his tank mates looked the other way and he committed it himself!!)

All seriousness, I get them for the algae, the prefer my euphyillia. Wont use them again.

 

[RaymondL]

Argh...so based on 2 responses here, one yay,, and one nay...that seems to be the responses I'm getting. I don't want to get one and then have to rehome it - guess I could, but don't want the trouble.

 

[ReefCheef]

Depends on your tank size. If you have a larger tank I'd say absolutely not. They are capable of growing to sizes where they can prey and eat decent sized fish. If they do grow that big and get a taste for it they can become a real problem. If you have a small tank it's not as big of a concern. FWIW I've had 4 saltwater tanks prior to my current one (which is large) and I decided not to add any.

 

[The_Skrimp]

They're great until they aren't and you won't find out until after they've ripped open some coral. I had to banish a few to the sump and eventually decided it just wasn't worth having them in my tank.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

They eat mainly algae, so if no algae in your tank they will go for corals, and if you have no corals then they will starve. I've tried to offer them dried algae, but they never go for it.

 

[parclife]

Mine have always been good in every tank… great to see them when the light goes down munching away. So I’d say yes

 

[SpyC]

Mixed feelings. Great for macro algaes, but can be a real nuisance once they get large. Had one that I’m still unsure if it was a look alike or emeral. Got to the size of a baseball cut in half and would topple rocks. Eventually had to spear it to get it out of the tank.

 

[TheBear78]

I have four in my 100 gallon. They tend to keep themselves hidden away in the rock work and I only see them occasionally. Never been a bother and while they didn't touch a small bubble algae outbreak they definitely chomped on GHA which was a surprise. They're still quite small after about 6 months so I am unsure about how big they would ever get.

 

[shakacuz]

i’ve had great luck with the ones i’ve had. i made sure to get FEMALE emerald crabs instead of male due to a noticeable difference in personality. i actually read on a few posts here on R2R that also confirmed this to be true for most

 

[ggNoRe]

I've had a bad experience and won't buy again. Mine always die after a couple months and I've seen 2 of them pick at my corals. I do have green algae in the tank.

 

[Saltyanimals]

Generally pretty good, but agree mine has gone after fish when they get large enough. Took me awhile to figure out why I had some fish death when people said a healthy fish likely wouldn’t fall victim to one. Not so true especially for sleeping fish.

 

[Perthegallon]

I have to say I personally hate them there impossible to remove and they eat fish