small tan crab ?? - Aquarium Advice

fishcrack · 03-25-2008, 11:26 AM

I have a tiny crab that I've only seen twice in my tank. I can't get a picture of him, as he rarely comes out and ducks back in the hole in the rock the minute he sees me. He only seems to come out at night. He is disc shaped, tan in color (matches my rock color), has 2 front pincher claws and is smaller than a dime in size. I'm assuming he came in as a hitchhiker on my live rock from when I started up my tank originally (29 gallon nano). I first spotted him in the fall and thought he was a goner since I hadn't seen him again. But, the other night, when I was checking my tank for night critters, I got a quick glimpse of him again. I haven't lost anything and all my water parameters are ok. Is he anything to worry about?? My concern is what will happen when he gets bigger?

**roka64** · 03-25-2008, 12:28 PM

What color are his pincers and is he hairy?

fishcrack · 03-25-2008, 12:39 PM

I haven't seen any hair on him and I think his pinchers were a bit darker than his body. I'll have to try and spot him again to get a better look. Any ideas how to lure him out? I know what hole he is in or at least where he has come out of the 2 times I've seen him. He moves lightning fast - certainly doesn't hang around for me to observe him.

**roka64** · 03-25-2008, 05:47 PM

Use food in a tilted glass trick. Tilt a glass by his hole ad a piece of raw shrimp tilt glass and wait. Don't leave the shrimp in there too long or it will start to decay.

SassyAngel111 · 03-25-2008, 09:02 PM

yea get him out, I had 4 gorilla crabs that was able to catch my new fish and had a feast, lost about 100.00 in fish because of them. They are natsy buggers

fishcrack · 03-28-2008, 09:35 AM

My guy at the lfs said he's a "sand crab." Ever heard of that? He did say that he'll eat corals, especially zoas. I just placed an order with Ziggy so the crab must go. He is in my base rock, of course, in a really deep hole. My scooter blenny keeps bullying him back in his hole every time I see him start to come out. Worse case scenerio, I take my tank apart to get to that rock. It doesn't have any coral on it. Do I dip it in fresh water to get the crab out? Will that hurt my bacteria on the live rock? Any better suggestions? I'll try the baited cup again but so far all I've caught is the blenny.

fishcrack · 03-31-2008, 10:06 PM

So, I tried the tilted glass trick again this morning. The little sand crab had started to inch out of his hiding spot, I was beginning to feel victorious when . . . out of a dark space in my rock comes a big, black hairy claw followed by a equally creepy looking body. Luckily, no students were in my room (my tank is in my classroom), because I said a few nonteacher like words and dropped the glass back into the tank. To make a long story short, after waiting patiently for 3 hours in a darkened classroom with all the pumps off, I ended up taking apart my tank and removing the rock he is residing in - now in my son's sump for the 90 gallon at home. Luckily it was a small piece of live rock. That explains the large number of disappearing snails! He had a den underneath the rock with a whole pile of shells. Yuck! Can he live in the sump? I can't kill him - I'm a softie.

fijiwigi · 03-31-2008, 10:51 PM

chalk one up to the Anti-Crab movement. Crabs are evil little guys no matter what species

**Ziggy953** · 04-04-2008, 01:20 AM

LOL...he will be fine in the sump. Not all crabs are bad. I have 2 Acro Crabs in my bottlebrush acro and one in my pink pocilipora. If you have ever watched the Blue Planet series on Discovery they have a segment about the Crown of thorns Star and how the Acro Crabs defend thier home. So...not all crabs are bad.

Karegg · 04-04-2008, 02:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishcrack

So, I tried the tilted glass trick again this morning. The little sand crab had started to inch out of his hiding spot, I was beginning to feel victorious when . . . out of a dark space in my rock comes a big, black hairy claw followed by a equally creepy looking body. Luckily, no students were in my room (my tank is in my classroom), because I said a few nonteacher like words and dropped the glass back into the tank. To make a long story short, after waiting patiently for 3 hours in a darkened classroom with all the pumps off, I ended up taking apart my tank and removing the rock he is residing in - now in my son's sump for the 90 gallon at home. Luckily it was a small piece of live rock. That explains the large number of disappearing snails! He had a den underneath the rock with a whole pile of shells. Yuck! Can he live in the sump? I can't kill him - I'm a softie.

I just want to say that that's an awesome story. So you got the sand crab out, but what was the big black thing?

03-25-2008, 11:26 AM	#1
fishcrack Aquarium Advice Regular Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Illinois Posts: 55	small tan crab ?? I have a tiny crab that I've only seen twice in my tank. I can't get a picture of him, as he rarely comes out and ducks back in the hole in the rock the minute he sees me. He only seems to come out at night. He is disc shaped, tan in color (matches my rock color), has 2 front pincher claws and is smaller than a dime in size. I'm assuming he came in as a hitchhiker on my live rock from when I started up my tank originally (29 gallon nano). I first spotted him in the fall and thought he was a goner since I hadn't seen him again. But, the other night, when I was checking my tank for night critters, I got a quick glimpse of him again. I haven't lost anything and all my water parameters are ok. Is he anything to worry about?? My concern is what will happen when he gets bigger?

03-25-2008, 12:28 PM	#2
roka64 Aquarium Advice Addict Community Moderator Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 10,980 Images: 12	What color are his pincers and is he hairy? __________________ Age is relative, you are only as old as you act....of course, this works in reverse.... Questions loved, heeded advice greatly appreciated! Vote for AA Good reading about: Nitrogen Cycle Fishless Cycling Need more help? Articles Acronym List --Scott

03-25-2008, 05:47 PM	#4
roka64 Aquarium Advice Addict Community Moderator Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 10,980 Images: 12	Use food in a tilted glass trick. Tilt a glass by his hole ad a piece of raw shrimp tilt glass and wait. Don't leave the shrimp in there too long or it will start to decay. __________________ Age is relative, you are only as old as you act....of course, this works in reverse.... Questions loved, heeded advice greatly appreciated! Vote for AA Good reading about: Nitrogen Cycle Fishless Cycling Need more help? Articles Acronym List --Scott

03-31-2008, 10:06 PM	#7
fishcrack Aquarium Advice Regular Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Illinois Posts: 55	Crab story continued So, I tried the tilted glass trick again this morning. The little sand crab had started to inch out of his hiding spot, I was beginning to feel victorious when . . . out of a dark space in my rock comes a big, black hairy claw followed by a equally creepy looking body. Luckily, no students were in my room (my tank is in my classroom), because I said a few nonteacher like words and dropped the glass back into the tank. To make a long story short, after waiting patiently for 3 hours in a darkened classroom with all the pumps off, I ended up taking apart my tank and removing the rock he is residing in - now in my son's sump for the 90 gallon at home. Luckily it was a small piece of live rock. That explains the large number of disappearing snails! He had a den underneath the rock with a whole pile of shells. Yuck! Can he live in the sump? I can't kill him - I'm a softie.

03-31-2008, 10:51 PM	#8
fijiwigi Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Yakima, Washington Posts: 1,272 Images: 7	chalk one up to the Anti-Crab movement. Crabs are evil little guys no matter what species __________________ The "experts" are many, but the truths are few. "When we have stopped learning, we have stopped listening"

03-25-2008, 12:39 PM	#3
fishcrack Aquarium Advice Regular Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Illinois Posts: 55	I haven't seen any hair on him and I think his pinchers were a bit darker than his body. I'll have to try and spot him again to get a better look. Any ideas how to lure him out? I know what hole he is in or at least where he has come out of the 2 times I've seen him. He moves lightning fast - certainly doesn't hang around for me to observe him.

03-25-2008, 09:02 PM	#5
SassyAngel111 Aquarium Advice Activist Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Buckeye, AZ Posts: 151	yea get him out, I had 4 gorilla crabs that was able to catch my new fish and had a feast, lost about 100.00 in fish because of them. They are natsy buggers

03-28-2008, 09:35 AM	#6
fishcrack Aquarium Advice Regular Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Illinois Posts: 55	My guy at the lfs said he's a "sand crab." Ever heard of that? He did say that he'll eat corals, especially zoas. I just placed an order with Ziggy so the crab must go. He is in my base rock, of course, in a really deep hole. My scooter blenny keeps bullying him back in his hole every time I see him start to come out. Worse case scenerio, I take my tank apart to get to that rock. It doesn't have any coral on it. Do I dip it in fresh water to get the crab out? Will that hurt my bacteria on the live rock? Any better suggestions? I'll try the baited cup again but so far all I've caught is the blenny.

04-04-2008, 01:20 AM	#9
Ziggy953 Aquarium Advice Addict Community Moderator Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Sumerduck, Virginia Posts: 3,915 Images: 5	LOL...he will be fine in the sump. Not all crabs are bad. I have 2 Acro Crabs in my bottlebrush acro and one in my pink pocilipora. If you have ever watched the Blue Planet series on Discovery they have a segment about the Crown of thorns Star and how the Acro Crabs defend thier home. So...not all crabs are bad. __________________ Happy Reefing! *120 Build in progress 6/18/08* Visit our Article section for answers on a variety of topics. LFS, PWC, PH RO/DI what in the world? Look here! Pods, algae and more!

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