My crab has.... Crabs?!?

[slovinator]

Ok maybe not, but there are lil bug like things crawling all over my emerald crab. They are extremely tiny and fast. I'm sure they are probably in the other parts of my aquarium too but they are easily noticed on the crab. With the green color of the crab as my background, the lil buggers look a brownish color. Any ideas what they could be? Should I be worried?[/b]

 

[Fluff]

Welcome to AA!

By your description, they sound like copepods. I wouldn't worry.

 

[slovinator]

Thanks! So does that mean I can get a mandarin fish now ??
Are they compatible with my tank (profile)?

Thanks again!

 

[Fluff]

The copepods numbers will fluxuate. How much live rock do you have? Compatability shouldn't be an issue with what you have. You only have the two clowns? How old is your tank? Just curious because of the light bioload.

 

[slovinator]

Setup for 60 days - cycled
We only have the 2 clowns for fish. We wanted to start light and are not suggesting rushing into anything, but we do feel the mandarins are beautiful, although advanced care required.

As for the live rock, I can't tell you the exact lbs because we got it from a friend's aquarium and forgot to ask, but it covers most of the bottom of our 75 gal. and is about 1/3 or 1/2 the height of the aquarium. Sorry for not having the specifics!

Also - we have a Rena XP3 Canister as our only filtration besides LR and everyone seems happy in our tank

 

[Fluff]

It's kinda early for a mandarin. The tank isn't stable yet. It's not uncommon to have a explosion of copepods early but, I'd wait a few months to see if the numbers stay consistent. Or, if you are lucky enough to find a mandarin that is eating frozen food, that would help. Also, don't take the lfs's word that it is eating, have them show you before purchasing. Good luck.