MasonK24
Active Member
It started with my first reef, a 15 gallon nano. I thought the idea of having a crab was so cool and i always saw emerald crabs at my LFS for $5. I did my research and saw the mixed reviews.Some saying that theirs is a model citizen and others that despise these little creatures. Despite my research I decided that i wanted one. I picked a decent sized one (half dollar size). The first day or two was great, he just hung out on the rock. Since this was my first tank i was obsessed always checking on it and looking at it even after the lights go out at night. Thats when i discovered that my emerald crab had a taste for Blastomussa. I was dissappointed to say the least. I tried to fish him out for an hour before i got tired of the cat and mouse game before i completely ripped the tank bare down to sand and caught him. I didnt have a sump so back to the LFS he went for a refund.
A year down the road I bought my 75 gallon system and decided “Hey, since i have a big system now I bet I could get another one and it will have so much room and food he’d never bother anything.” I picked up 2 very small emerald crabs from my LFS. About 2 months later they have not bothered a soul. Then in broad daylight i see the bigger of the two perched on top of my hammer coral chilling. I felt something funny was going on. I watched him for twentyl minutes sit on this coral waving his claws in and out of the tentacles of the hammer but never clamping down. I swear he was toying with me to see how much he could get away with. The hammer was annoyed but not being damaged so i decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. I ate those words. That brings me tonight. I am stilled obsessed with my tank and check up on it frequently. It was 4 am, the tank was pitch black, and i whip out my flashlight to check everything out. Thats when i see him completely mowing down my Green Star polyps. Ive never seen a crab eat so fast. He was tearing it to pieces. I grabbed my tweezers to try to grab him before he took off into a hole so he could be banished to the sump. I got ahold of him but he had a death grip on the rock and i accidentily ripped his shell from his body. I felt bad but he was a bad seed.
In conclusion, I gave Emerald Crabs multiple chances because I really liked them and wanted them to be a part of my tanks community but i've learned that they will eventually go rogue. I cant speak for all emerald crabs because im sure that there is good ones out there but I got burned one too many times. Despite all the threads ive read that are titled “Emerald Crabs are NOT reef safe” i got one anyway because i didnt want to believe it. I will never include them in my future systems. It really is a gamble that ive always seem to lose.
There is still one left roaming my system. Against everything i just wrote i may give him a chance to show me he isnt rogue. I will update the thread anything happens.
p.s. The point of this was not to bash them but to inform people interested in buying one.
A year down the road I bought my 75 gallon system and decided “Hey, since i have a big system now I bet I could get another one and it will have so much room and food he’d never bother anything.” I picked up 2 very small emerald crabs from my LFS. About 2 months later they have not bothered a soul. Then in broad daylight i see the bigger of the two perched on top of my hammer coral chilling. I felt something funny was going on. I watched him for twentyl minutes sit on this coral waving his claws in and out of the tentacles of the hammer but never clamping down. I swear he was toying with me to see how much he could get away with. The hammer was annoyed but not being damaged so i decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. I ate those words. That brings me tonight. I am stilled obsessed with my tank and check up on it frequently. It was 4 am, the tank was pitch black, and i whip out my flashlight to check everything out. Thats when i see him completely mowing down my Green Star polyps. Ive never seen a crab eat so fast. He was tearing it to pieces. I grabbed my tweezers to try to grab him before he took off into a hole so he could be banished to the sump. I got ahold of him but he had a death grip on the rock and i accidentily ripped his shell from his body. I felt bad but he was a bad seed.
In conclusion, I gave Emerald Crabs multiple chances because I really liked them and wanted them to be a part of my tanks community but i've learned that they will eventually go rogue. I cant speak for all emerald crabs because im sure that there is good ones out there but I got burned one too many times. Despite all the threads ive read that are titled “Emerald Crabs are NOT reef safe” i got one anyway because i didnt want to believe it. I will never include them in my future systems. It really is a gamble that ive always seem to lose.
There is still one left roaming my system. Against everything i just wrote i may give him a chance to show me he isnt rogue. I will update the thread anything happens.
p.s. The point of this was not to bash them but to inform people interested in buying one.
