How do I catch this girl (Humanely)

[Macdaddynick1]

So I used to buy a lot of colonies and this girl is the only gorilla crab I decided to keep alive, threw her into a sump as a pea size little crab. Somehow she made it to my display, and occasionally she likes to eat tips off of my acros. Which is honestly not a HUGE problem but I have a few pieces I’d like her to leave untouched. Well now she molted, and I want her to go back into my sump. If anyone has a good Trap ideas I’d really appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

 

[LJLKRL05]

get you an acrylic trap that the door drops down on, put an acro in the trap. Wait for it to nip the acro the drop the door. Maybe a piece of food it likes will work for bait too.

 

[SPS2020]

I use a large pair of stainless steel forceps and grab one claw and pull. They will let go and then put them wherever you want. If that is a Gorilla Crab (looks more like Emerald Crab to me), put it in the trash. lol

I had a large Emerald Crab which would break off pieces of Acropora...until he didn't.

 

[Macdaddynick1]

Additionally, in case anyone is wondering, overall she’s been a great citizen, she only eats the grow tips and that usually happens once every two three months.

I use a large pair of stainless steel forceps and grab one claw and pull. They will let go and then put them wherever you want. If that is a Gorilla Crab (looks more like Emerald Crab to me), put it in the trash. lol

I had a large Emerald Crab which would break off pieces of Acropora...until he didn't.

I think they look very very similar even almost identical to emerald crabs. From my very brief they type I have loses much of their hair when they grow to be adults.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanthidae ( mine looks exactly lieke the photo) much wider/more elongated than the emerald. To my surprise, she doesnt do too much damage so I wouldnt want to kill her just for an occasional inconveniece. I will definitely try to do the claw trick, though shes super fast.

 

[Macdaddynick1]

get you an acrylic trap that the door drops down on, put an acro in the trap. Wait for it to nip the acro the drop the door. Maybe a piece of food it likes will work for bait too.

Good Idea, thank you. Just looked some up on amazon. will report haha.

 

[MERKEY]

One way to tell for sure is to look at the molts claws tips.

Take a close pic of where the 2 points come together.

Post that pic and we can confirm for sure

 

[Macdaddynick1]

One way to tell for sure is to look at the molts claws tips.

Take a close pic of where the 2 points come together.

Post that pic and we can confirm for sure

Here she is relaxing. OR HE lol

 

[Tired]

Baiting her out onto the sand with something stinky and grabbing her with tongs (or a gloved hand) is probably your best bet.

Pest crabs are fun! I've got a sharp-haired red-mottled one myself that grows a notable amount with every molt. It's not yet very big, but I'm excited to see how large it gets. I have it in a HOB 'fuge where it can't bother anything.

 

[Macdaddynick1]

Baiting her out onto the sand with something stinky and grabbing her with tongs (or a gloved hand) is probably your best bet.

Pest crabs are fun! I've got a sharp-haired red-mottled one myself that grows a notable amount with every molt. It's not yet very big, but I'm excited to see how large it gets. I have it in a HOB 'fuge where it can't bother anything.

Yeah, she's pretty cool, especially since i grew her from something so tiny. I have a nice fuge just for her. lol

 

[Tired]

Mine just approached the tweezers (which it's scared of, because those are the tweezers I caught with) to take a piece of food! I'm hoping to train it to easily come out for food so I can show it off to people. Might be worth trying with yours- crabs and things tend to learn fast that the tweezers are good, and it's fun to watch.

Post pics when you get her out!

You might be able to catch her with a glass container, like a shot glass, leaned against the rockwork. Put something stinky in the glass and hope she crawls in- she won't be able to climb out.

 

[OrionN]

NOT GUILTY

That crab is an herbivore. You can tell by the spoon shape of his pinchers (he is a male crab). He is not responsible to the Acro tip or other missing fish or invert. You cannot bait him into the trap because he does not eat meat. Much more likely, one of the fish nipped at the coral tips rather than this crab.
Don't pin the crime on him unless you have proof in the form of video tape or actual observation.

 

[Macdaddynick1]

NOT GUILTY

That crab is an herbivore. You can tell by the spoon shape of his pinchers (he is a male crab). He is not responsible to the Acro tip or other missing fish or invert. You cannot bait him into the trap because he does not eat meat. Much more likely, one of the fish nipped at the coral tips rather than this crab.
Don't pin the crime on him unless you have proof in the form of video tape or actual observation.

Unfortunately I saw him do it, albeit rarely. Also, I fed him mysis before. I do agree I think he’s primarily a herbivore, thus he only sometimes eats the tips of the acros. I have a lot of colonies, and rarely do I see the damage.

 

[Macdaddynick1]

Mine just approached the tweezers (which it's scared of, because those are the tweezers I caught with) to take a piece of food! I'm hoping to train it to easily come out for food so I can show it off to people. Might be worth trying with yours- crabs and things tend to learn fast that the tweezers are good, and it's fun to watch.

Post pics when you get her out!

You might be able to catch her with a glass container, like a shot glass, leaned against the rockwork. Put something stinky in the glass and hope she crawls in- she won't be able to climb out.

I am going to be trying this. He is much much faster than the green emeralds, so I doubt my reaction will be good enough to grab him. Lol