How to catch a bad crab?

CherryBlossom · Dec 29, 2013

Hey guys, seems I have a very bad hitch hiker crab - Stone crab? Lost a clown fish, Pom Pom crab due to him and he's eating my GSP

He's quick and I lost him last night trying to catch him, what can I do to catch him and get him out?

Any ideas helps!
Thanks

Jlobes · Dec 29, 2013

Oh man...i hunted a rogue crab for probably 6-8 months. using all the various traps and what not. finally, I just got lucky and saw him off the rock work one night looking in the tank. managed to grab him with stealthy moves and a pair of long tweezers!! Was a heart racing moment, in reefing. caught him on my birthday too! decided to relegate it to the sump, not sure if its still down there!

As for some suggestions, do a quick search and youll find a few trap ideas. there is a commercial crab/pest trap. plastic cups in the sand bed, the inverted plastic bottle, pvc tube trick, lay in wait with some tweezers.

CherryBlossom · Dec 29, 2013

I have been at it for a few nights, grabbed him with tweezers but he got away from me.. Now I've scared him that I don't think he will return to his hide spot in the GSP

I'll check again tonight and see if I can see him, already removed a smaller grab from the tank two nights ago as well

This crab is super mean and nasty

tyler1503 · Dec 29, 2013

I've heard of people half burying jam jars in the sand on an angle and putting some food inside. If your tank is bare bottom you could rest the jar against his favourite rock. When the crabs goes in for the food he gets trapped as he can't climb the glass sides of the jar to get out.
I've never done this so I don't know how well it works, but is worth a try

Jlobes · Dec 29, 2013

i hear ya...this one was eating all sorts of things and had to go. that crazy moment when you have them in the tweezers.....and almost bring em up. like the fish that got away!!

tyler1503 · Dec 29, 2013

If you do get him with tweezers again have a net in the other hand underneath him so if he gets away you'll still get him in the net hopefully

CherryBlossom · Dec 29, 2013

Yeah he was going nuts and pinching, moving around which made me loose him, I'll try the net next time I see him, he's super quick though

I'll check again tonight and see if I can spot him again, if not he's hiding

Will my pistol shrimp kill him if he happens to get close to him?

And do I just kill him or throw him in my sump?

Jlobes · Dec 29, 2013

insanely quick and very responsive to shadows. I just didnt have the heart to kill him, as badly as I wanted, given all the damage it did. Into the sump it went.

Eienna · Dec 29, 2013

If you see him go into a rock, and you can safely remove the rock, throw the whole thing in your sump until you see him outside said rock. Then you can take the rock out, and voila!

tyler1503 · Dec 29, 2013

I wouldn't trust the crab around the shrimp. Especially because the crab was big enough and mean enough to take down a clown. How big are they both?
I'd personally put him in the sump. He can't hurt anything down there.
I think eiennas idea is most likely to work if you can remove the rock.

CherryBlossom · Dec 29, 2013

My pistol shrimp is a decent size but so is that crab...

I'll see if I can spot him in the rock again and remove it flushing him out

slapshot · Dec 29, 2013

I have only had luck removing the rock or coral then chasing him off. The coolest thing I saw was a guy made a hawaiian sling out of a small metal cooking needle and speared them in the rock.

CherryBlossom · Dec 30, 2013

Ok found a nice sized glass jar, stuck some food in the bottom right beside the GSP where I usually see him... Let's hope this works!

TUSI · Dec 30, 2013

It will work caught few of them like that

CherryBlossom · Dec 30, 2013

TUSI - I hope it does!!

Jimbo · Dec 30, 2013

CherryBlossom said:
Ok found a nice sized glass jar, stuck some food in the bottom right beside the GSP where I usually see him... Let's hope this works!

I just caught a Gorilla crab that way. Got him 5 minutes after the lights went out. Good luck !

CherryBlossom · Dec 31, 2013

No luck last night .. Try again tonight

tyler1503 · Jan 4, 2014

Had any luck catching him yet?

mmincey200 · Jan 4, 2014

I have a gorilla crab trap in my tank now. Caught a hermit crab so far. This guy looks to be the size of a nickel.

joekool · Jan 4, 2014

i had a huge crab that ate a few fish. I couldn't catch him and trapped it in a whole. didn't want to but that's what happened. wish I would have known about the jar trick.