Emerald crabs attack???

[Mrsfuller2572]

I had my first fatality today. I found one of my banggai cardinal fish on the sand with a bloody 'cut' in the tail fin.
Could the emerald crab have done this?
In the tank are:
3 blue green chromis
1 (was 2) banggai cardinal fish
1 spotted blenny
1 yellow goby
2 red shrimp
12 or so blue legged crabs
1 emerald crab

 

[austinsdad]

I belive the crab was just doing what they do. Eating off of the dead/dying.

How old is the tank and is there any new liverock - with a potential for mantis shrimp hiding in it?

 

[Mrsfuller2572]

No new lr. I got the lr from an established reef and it was in my tank a half an hour later. Tank tested perfect for two weeks before I began adding live critters. Tank has had everything(fish, shrimp, crabs) BUT the banggai for two weeks, now. I just added the two banggai on Friday. Seemed fine, ran to the grocery and an hour later here he was on the bottom struggling and dead within minutes.

 

[Hara]

no, the crab didn't do that. Sounds like an acclimation issue.

 

[roka64]

Sounds like an acclimation issue.

This sounds like it might be it. How do you acclimate?

 

[Mrsfuller2572]

When I arrived home with them, I opened the bag and put 1c. of water from the tank and poured it into the bag. I repeated this about 20 minutes later. About 1/2 hour after the second cup of water was put in, I poured them into the tank. They were in the bag roughly 1 1/2 hours total.
My salinity and the tank at the lfs were the same (1.024), so what should I have done differently?
Hara- I just went to your fantasy reef site. I was told by the lfs where I got them that they would eat the same flake food that the chromis eat! However, I looked them up on your site and it was contradictory!!! I may have starved it! What should I buy the other one to eat? I am taking the Dead one back to the lfs tonight and will buy whatever you think I should for the other one.
Axiously waiting your reply and feeling awful!

 

[roka64]

I do a 1-2 hour drip acclimation for my fish and a little over 2 hours for inverts. I haven't had any problems, so far, from acclimating. I was looking for an article on this site but couldn't find it. Here is a good explination:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/general.cfm?general_pagesid=19&ref=3319&subref=AI
This gives them a longer chance to acclimate to my tank. Others, I'm sure have their ways also. I just like to be a little careful.

Sorry for your loss!!

 

[Hara]

I have never known banggai to eat flake. Mysis and Brine shrimp are all mine would touch.

Fish should be drip acclimated. Alot of LFS keep their salinity much lower than we do and the greater the difference the longer the acclimation time. I have had to acclimate fish for over 4 hours when the fish store had a SG of about 1.019. Ph is the other thing, if there is a big ph difference, the acclimation time can be quite lengthy. Banggai are also not super good shippers. If the store had just recently received them in, and then you bought them, the little guy just couldnt cope with all the changes.

 

[Mrsfuller2572]

Thanks for the lesson on acclimating. I had no idea that it would be okay to allow them to be in the bag (even if open) for that long of a period.
Also I had taken a water sample in for testing the same time I purchased these guys and was 'told' that my salinity was the same as their's, but who knows.
ANyway, I am hoping that the same gal will be there and remember telling me that they'd eat the flake....