Emerald crab killing goby

[Breezyrae]

Hey guys, is it possible for an emerald crab to kill a pink spotted watchman goby?? When we woke up this morning my goby was split completely down the center of his underside and the crab was eating him. And now is living in the gobys hole. I am so completely bummed. RIP Gobes

[AquaRick]

It usually depends on the size. I definitely wouldn't put it past a large emerald. A smaller one however probably found a free lunch that was attacked/killed by something else.

It's been my experience that they're not as reef safe as they're claimed to be.

[Breezyrae]

Wow thanx aquarick. The crab maybe an inch and my goby was about 4. Now I'm concerned for my jawfish. I already knew the crab was feisty cuz every time I go to look in tank he throws up his claws at me. Just didn't think he would be capable of killing something that big. 😭

[Evilbass]

I have a yellow watchmen that I brought over from a 3 gal nano tank. I was at my LFS and asked about getting some crabs for the nano to help with some algae issues. the very first thing he told me was to stay away from Emerald crabs because of the goby and the pistol shrimp he was with. I ended up 86-ing the idea and picked up some snails instead. I would watch him closely, if you can, and see if he tries to go after the jaw fish.

[54seaweed]

Emeralds are demons in my book , they Never look you straight in the eye and eat everything that's not tied down

[ccCapt]

Emerald crabs, like all crabs, are opportunistic feeders, meaning they will always take a free meal. However, they have flat claws which aren't designed for ripping flesh. I doubt it killed the goby. It more than likely just found a free meal in the already dead or near dead goby.

[Evilbass]

Originally Posted by ccCapt

Emerald crabs, like all crabs, are opportunistic feeders, meaning they will always take a free meal. However, they have flat claws which aren't designed for ripping flesh. I doubt it killed the goby. It more than likely just found a free meal in the already dead or near dead goby.

With this being said... what else is in your tank that could have killed the goby?

[Breezyrae]

Wow thanks for all the responses guys !! I truly appreciate it. My goby was totally gutted insides gone. I have snails, a couple hermits , 1 damsel, 2 clowns, jawfish, bicolor pseudo and a bristle starfish and a cleaner shrimp. And the crab was walking around with him eating. My boyfriend totally had a tug of war match to get the gobies body away from him

[Breezyrae]

Originally Posted by Evilbass

I have a yellow watchmen that I brought over from a 3 gal nano tank. I was at my LFS and asked about getting some crabs for the nano to help with some algae issues. the very first thing he told me was to stay away from Emerald crabs because of the goby and the pistol shrimp he was with. I ended up 86-ing the idea and picked up some snails instead. I would watch him closely, if you can, and see if he tries to go after the jaw fish.

I did see my jawfish pop out on the crab and the crab got the jawfish and flung him. But that was a couple of days ago before the goby died.

[mr_X]

brittle starfish? What color? What size?

[Evilbass]

I'm sorry, X, your avi scares me! Lol! That us all!

[Breezyrae]

Originally Posted by mr_X

brittle starfish? What color? What size?

The brittle starfish is brown and pretty big. I got him from reefcleaners.org. But I got him a couple weeks ago and haven't seen him since. The last I saw him he had ripped off his arm. Which I believe was my fault. Cuz I think I acclimated him wrong. After we found the goby dead we did a water change and rearranged som rock work and still can't find that starfish. The starfish with his legs included in the measurement was at least 6 inches

[mr_X]

He very well may be dead. It wouldn't rip off it's own arm simply because of a hasty acclimation. That said, brittle starfish are pretty resilient, but more importantly, can capture and eat a sleeping fish.
Before I looked to the crab, I would look to the star.
Hardly a good part of a "cleanup crew" however. What is it going to clean up? The bio load? They eat large pieces of meaty foods, and unless your husbandry is terrible, I don't see you leaving that kind of snack for him unintentionally.

[Breezyrae]

Thanks for the advice mr. X . Have you ever seen something split completely down the middle?? What could possibly be capable of that?? I still haven't seen that starfish. I was thinking the crab ate him a while ago cuz when his leg tore off, the crab jumped on it and was devouring it

[mr_X]

No, I haven't. I don't know how the split happened. If the starfish grabbed it, I would imagine it not letting it go until it was gone. A crab wouldn't be able to do that either IMO.
Those serpent and brittle starfish hide pretty well and only come out when a meal is available, or after dark, searching for a meal.
I have seen the green brittle stars perched up like a tent inside a cavern, waiting for a fish to swim under. They fall onto it and wrap it up and chow down. Even if this happened, ripping it in half would be hard to imagine.

[Brandonjkoontz1]

What kind of damsel do you have? Is it possible the damsel killed it and the crab just startes chowing down? Hence the shredding? Cause I know.from experience that damsel are extremly mean towards just about everything. Iv even heard about damsels taking out lionfish.

[Breezyrae]

Originally Posted by mr_X

No, I haven't. I don't know how the split happened. If the starfish grabbed it, I would imagine it not letting it go until it was gone. A crab wouldn't be able to do that either IMO.
Those serpent and brittle starfish hide pretty well and only come out when a meal is available, or after dark, searching for a meal.
I have seen the green brittle stars perched up like a tent inside a cavern, waiting for a fish to swim under. They fall onto it and wrap it up and chow down. Even if this happened, ripping it in half would be hard to imagine.

Geeze this is a mystery indeed!!! My tank is under investigation right now. I've got such a headache!! My boyfriend literally was playing tug of war with the crab as he saw the crab walking around the tank with the goby. It's just so weird the the goby was literally split right up the middle like he was dissected.

[Breezyrae]

Originally Posted by Brandonjkoontz1

What kind of damsel do you have? Is it possible the damsel killed it and the crab just startes chowing down? Hence the shredding? Cause I know.from experience that damsel are extremly mean towards just about everything. Iv even heard about damsels taking out lionfish.

Brandon- thanks for the response. My damsel is definetly is the "live wire" in my tank. The only things he really messes with are my dottyback(bicolor pseudo ) and that crab! He never messed with the goby, clownfish, or jawfish. I'm not quite sure of the breed of damsel but I will attach a pic of Gator(my damsel) maybe u can help me with that as well lol. I believe he is just a blue damsel.

[Brandonjkoontz1]

Its a yellowtail damsel. There one of my favs and actually to my knowledge ( which is fairly limited. =\) there one of the less aggresive damsels. And the only reason I askes was because damsels can be fine for weeks evsb months and the snap and you'll find a your tank being tormented. Its a shamr. Damsels are my favorite and I'm currently doing a damsel only tank just for that reason. Lol

[Brandonjkoontz1]

Was he the last fish you put in the tank? Sometimes that makes them less agressive with the territorial issue. Although iv heard putting them in early puts them under a lot of stress because their constantly fretting about the other fish taking its spot in the tank. Which makes a higher risk of him snapping and going bezerk.