What is my problem here? UPDATE!!! NEW INFO!!!!

[Jermz79]

OK I'm actually getting mad ...

I was sitting around last night looking at my tanks and in my Nanocube I had a Strawberry Psuedo and a Perc. I noticed that my Perc was out and about enjoying the current and what looked to be nestling with my gsp!!! WooHooo on that part! ANYWAY ... I didn't see my Strawberry so I figured he was probably in his little cave he found and is chillin. So I grabbed my flashlight and looked around the back of the tank and HE IS NOWHERE? I looked all over for him, I even looked in the back chambers because I've read a few stories of fish getting in there and not being able to get back out AND NOPE HE'S NOT THERE! AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH

So I grabbed my test kits and start testing the water! All my readings came back spectacular .. Ph 8.2, SG 1.024, Temp 79.8, Ammo 0, Trites 0, Trates <5. Even better than what I had prior when the trates were up around 15????

I am clueless as to why it is only my Perc's that are soldiers! They seem to be the only fish I can keep? In the last month I have now lost a CB Angel, Yellow Clown Goby, and a Strawberry Psuedo??? I also find it odd that there is no visual signs of the Strawberry left over. I only have 3 Scarlets in there and I don't think they could have devoured him that fast as he was in there the night before (or maybe they could have)???

BUT what I did notice is that I have a unidentified crab lurking in the darkness of the back of the tank ... brown in color, looks like hairy legs, and black claws! I saw him while looking for the Strawberry and he quickly ducked out of site into the rock!!!!?

Sorry for the long post, but I'm going crazy here!! Maybe I should just stick to clowns huh?


Jermz

 

[skennelly]

Well, I don't know what happened, but I have a similar story. I purchased a royal gramma and he was doing great for a few months. Then I just lost him????? I never found a trace of his death and my water perameters are very good as well. I have a crab that lurks around in the rocks and I think he might have had something to do with it since gramma's tend to hide in the holes of LR.

Hope you figure your problem out.

 

[BillyZ]

crab with black claws are never a good thing. I'll see if I can dig up the article that describes what you're likely seeing, but for now, try and get a better identification of the crab, a picture if possible will help a lot.

you could also try trapping him.

Find a clean glass, rinse it as good as possible, place a small chunk of meaty food, shrimp, fish, something uncooked and place it in the bottom of the glass.

Place the glass in the tank so it is near where you suspect the crab to be and place it at an angle so the crab can get in it, but wont be able to get a grip on the glass to climb out. You likely won't see him if you stick around and watch, you'll have to go away, turn the lights out and come back and peek in every once in a while.

if you can catch him, take a snapshot and post it here or describe it in as much detail as possible. It is quite likely you have a fish catcher on your hands :|

 

[BillyZ]

here are a couple links for you:

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/swcrabidfaqs.htm

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/arthropoda/crabs/swcrabs.htm

HTH

 

[Jermz79]

WOW .... after looking at that link for the Crab ID, I believe I may have a Xanthid Crab??? From what I could see of him he looks like the one that has the striped legs and black claws!! Whats funny though is I haven't seen this crab until last night for the first time and I've had the tank setup since July.

Dang .... so this glass method, I'm not sure I understand? Does it work like the bottle trick? I place the glass in the tank right side up but kind of tilted so he can get in but slides back down if he tries to get out? or do I invert the glass?

Would it be possible that the crab nabbed himself a strawberry Dinner? I know the Psuedo hung out in a little hole in the rock so I imagine that if the crab got in there he could have bagged himself a nice dinner!

Thanks BillyZ


Jermz

 

[revhtree]

Place the glass near th rock where you seen him. Tilt it against the rock where he can climb in, but cant climb out.

Sorry about you loss Jermz....

 

[Jermz79]

Thanks Rev!
I just read your thread too, MAN what a bummer! I hope everything turns out ok in your tank ... you had an absolutely gorgeous tank !


I'm gonna catch this crab and then grill him up if it was him that ate my Strawberry Buddy!

 

[ellisz]

How long had you had the Strawberry? If he was relativlely new, it could just be from stress from shipping and/or acclimation. The crab would have to be big and the fish to be real small for it to grab it. He might eat it once the fish is gone though.

Not saying to keep the crab by any means but he might not be the culprit.

Sorry for your loss.

 

[Jermz79]

I've had the strawberry for about a month now maybe a little longer and he was doing great. I think I'm going with the crab on this one, I don't know of anything else that could have happened!?

I'm hunting for crab tonight!!!!

 

[Phyl]

I've had many a fish disappear to this crazy crab I had in my tank. I finally ended up removing him rather manually after he ate my anthias. He was a wicked looking hairy crab. Complete fish used to just totally disappear with not a trace of them left behind while he was in the tank. That does't happen anymore!

Good luck getting rid of him.

 

[ellisz]

Was this a month with or without a QT period? I had a few crabs that were twice as big as some of my fish and the never hurt the fish. Did damage to corals though

The bigger they are, the harder it is for them to hide.

 

[Fluff]

Xanthid crabs aren't normally fish hunters. They are more prone to indulge themselves on your snails. I had one that took a liking to nassarius snails and would sit and dig them out of the sand. They usually come out at night and they don't move very fast. You may be able to bait him out but if you watch for him, you may be able to just net him out too. This is what I did. Good luck.

 

[Jermz79]

Hmmm now that you mention the snails Fluff, I have noticed that a few of my Nass snail shells have come up empty in the corner where I seen him chillin!

I tried last night to nab him with the glass and ... NO LUCK! I think tonight I might try something different and bait him out with a piece of shrimp or mussell and then see if I can net him!

I also have a feeling that I have either a pistol or mantis as every night after lights out I hear LOUD clicks from both tanks. I am leaning towards pistols though because in both tanks around where I think the clicks come from I can see little piles of sand starting to build up!


Tonight begins the hunt. I am not giving up on this because I'm getting mad that I keep loosing fish! My clowns are the only soldiers left in my tanks and they are looking lonely!

 

[revhtree]

If you can pull out the rock and put it in a bucket they will usually drop out. I have done that twice. After 1 yr and about 8 months I just seen another...

 

[BillyZ]

and put it in a bucket

...of RO water

 

[revhtree]

Ya thats what I meant Billy.....

Thanks

 

[Jermz79]

Well, that is going to be impossible for me to do since in the Nano I have some nice corals attached to the rocks, and right now my aquascaping is PERFECT! I know the minute I move the one rock in the middle I'll never get it back the same!

One question though .... has anyone had any luck with the traps they sell? I noticed that last night with the glass it was a little big going into the nano so I figure that one of those small trabs may work better?

When I catch this crab I'm taking him back to my LFS and trading him in on a grey Brittle they are holding for me. I won't get much credit, but the cool thing is my LFS takes anything that I bring in to them!!!

 

[Jermz79]

OK .... funny thing! I opened the top of my Nanocube tonight just for the heck of it and something BRIGHT purple caught my eye!! It was my freakin Purple Psuedochromis ... YUP that little *BEEP* has been living in there for almost two weeks now!

I laughed for a moment and then realized ... well I gotta get him out of there now. So I had to remove 5lbs. of LR Rubble from the 3 back chambers to get him out! Created a nice mess in the main tank! BUT I got him out and he seems to be ok. I assume that he was living off the extra food that made it to the back and whatever else he could find on the rocks.

WHAT else?? I found some really nice yellow sponges, a few little tiny snails and a REALLY tiny Hermit!! all in the back chambers of the Nano!


WOO HOOO!!!!!

 

[Fluff]

lol That's good news. Congrats!

 

[Macmommy]

Did you ever catch the crab, Jermz?