What ate a giant hole through my frogspawn stem!???

Charles4400 · Mar 16, 2018

This hole looks super fresh and I just noticed this tonight after lights out. This stem had 3 heads on it. 2 of the heads died over the past week.

Didnt think much about it as the surviving head is pretty full when open and the other stem on that rock has heads that are full and open in the day as well. I have 2 other frogspawn on different rocks on each side of this which are healthy as well. Just figured sometimes heads just die...BUT then I saw this hole tonight! what the heck!?

Now when i noticed this I saw a hermit crab picking on a stem on the same rock. And yes there was a little white spot on that stem it was picking at. But I never heard of hermit crabs doing this type of damage to a skeleton? Coimcidence? Crab at wrong plave at wrong time? Anyways the hermit crab I found has been removed from the tank (though I do have many other hermits and many other small hitchiker crabs throughout the tank.)

Anyone have thoughts on this?

Synodontis · Mar 16, 2018

If it was an Elegance coral, I would say Gaul crab. I haven't heard of them in a Frogspawn before tho.

Charles4400 · Mar 16, 2018

Here's a closer pick of the damage...looks fresh doesn't it?

As luck would have it I saw one of those small hitchiker crabs on the frogspawn next to the one with a hole in it. I luckily just picked up the whole frogspawn it was on and put it in a bucket and the crab stayed on it. (easiest crab catch I've ever done actually!). Could this little guy have done such damage? Regardless he's out of the tank now but crabs eating through the stem??? Really?

Was able to even get a pick of him on the frogspawn stem, looked like he was picking too. As a matter of fact looks like there is damage the stem next to him too.

madweazl · Mar 16, 2018

The crab is likely innocent and was probably picking at dying flesh; it certainly didnt create the hole.

alton · Mar 16, 2018

I have kept and fragged Frogspawn for 15 years and have never seen that? I even had a rock boring urchin in one of my tanks.

Ocean Lotion · Mar 16, 2018

I would set my alarms for a few times at night and see what you can find.

Charles4400 · Mar 16, 2018

I havent seen this before either and was hoping someone else had... what the heck does this???

I initially didnt think crab but dont know what could do this.

I have a red light and was looking around last night. Other than that tiny crab I didnt notice anything interesting, will keep looking.

kswan · Mar 16, 2018

I had a Gall crab bore a hole into my Wellso and kill it. The hole was only about the size of a pencil. Your pics look different...

Charles4400 · Mar 16, 2018

I know there is a big rougue crab in the tank which i have unsuccessfully tried to kill or trap. Dont have a pic and dont know what type it is. His body is maybe an inch wide.

I never noticed any strange things with fish or coral so i have since stopped trying to get him long ago.

I havent ever seen him near my frogspawns before and would not think that crabs pick like this at all, but is it possible for a larger crab like this to do it? My tank has been fallow for a few months now from ich, but could hunger drive him to pick through frogspawn skeleton?

Up untill this thread I didnt even know any type of crab bore through anything like the gall crab apparently does. How big do gall crabs get?

Daniel@R2R · Mar 16, 2018

Wow! That's pretty crazy! How fast did the damage occur? Was it overnight?

aquariumreefers · Mar 16, 2018

Gall crabs are difficult to ID and since the dig themselft in your corals mostly freshly corals like euphyllia, trachys , welsos and especially elegance. Once you spot one it's usually too late and a a band saw will be will be required to cut the coral a quick coral dip with some furan/doxy or any dip with antibacterial properties to help it heal.

Charles4400 · Mar 16, 2018

Not sure if it was all in one night, I only noticed it last night amd it looks pretty fresh so it couldnt have been there that long.

Heres a pic of the frogspawn starting to open up in the morning, I could have overlooked it untill last night when I was just randomly looking around the tank with a red light at night.