Grrr Emerald Crabs

[Gtinnel]

So I have known for a while now that emerald crabs were only partially reef safe and I have had two fairly large emerald crabs in my tank for around a year now and they had been model citizens or so I thought. Tonight a little before my lights went off I noticed one near a frag of clove polyps so I decided to watch him. While I watched him he proceeded to rip of one polyp and eat it. I was able to catch him and banish him to my sump so I guess I need to go crab hunting for the other one. I'm glad that he only ate the clove polyps, as far as I know at least.

 

[dvgyfresh]

I have an urchin that also eats GSP so I feel ya but I have no idea how to get him out lol he’s a big long spine

 

[flsalty]

Save him for when your clove polyps get too invasive lol

 

[Gtinnel]

I have an urchin that also eats GSP so I feel ya

Ironically I have an urchin in my sump also because most of my frags are not glued down and I got tired of playing find the frag with the urchin.

 

[Gtinnel]

Save him for when your clove polyps get too invasive lol

That might be a good idea. If it starts growing too much I'll move the rock it's on to the sump and let him have at them. The only coral I have so far that is growing quick enough that it worries me is my hollywood stunner chalice, but I guess it is at least easy to remove pieces of if it gets too big.

 

[Jeffcb]

Not a good pic but she has been around a while. Covered in coralline. They must live for quite a while. Never bothers anything.

 

[Gtinnel]

Never bothers anything.

My advice is to keep an eye on it, up until today I would've also said that mine never bothered anything.
My tank is fairly free of algea now so I'm guessing that it started going after coral because it didn't have much of anything else to eat. I probably should have started specifically feeding them.

It does look cool covered in the coraline algea though. I've never seen a pink emerald crab before.

 

[vetteguy53081]

They are long lived as long as they have something to eat

 

[Tcook]

At risk of over-posting this pic, here is my "model citizen ".

 

[Gtinnel]

At risk of over-posting this pic, here is my "model citizen ".

Yep he looks just as "model citizen" as mine did while eating my coral. I am glad mine at least picked a fairly ugly cheap coral that I probably shouldn't have bought to begin with.

 

[Micro-Reefs Aquarium]

I have worked with Emerald crabs in the past and they are considered opportunistic, so what ever they can overpower or eat, will happen. I had 3 in my 90 gallon reef and they were great for 2 years, and then one night, I saw my goby in a hole moving back and forth and pale, turned on the light and the emerald crab was eating him from the tail and the movement was front/back as if he was moving. He was dead and I don't know if it died or got ambushed?

But having said that, the Emerald Crabs were the best at eating the filament algae growing on the rocks, even had a couple sally light foot crabs that always ate off the rocks.