How to catch a sally light foot crab

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Fishman007

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Jul 22, 2013
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North carolina
so yesterday i went to lfs and got some brain coral and live rock and also there was this crab labled "sally light foot" so i talked to the employee and he said that all they do is sift through sand and that they are reef safe. So i did some research after the crab was acclimated and found that once they grow older they get a taste for fish and corals and that they will eat invertabrates and fish if they get hungry, does anyone know how to catch them before it eats all of my corals and my puffer?
 
Well, I won't hit you too hard, but you just learned a very valuable lesson along with breaking THE cardinal rule of reefing...... research, research, research before anything goes into your system!!! Unless I specifically know the owner/employee of a LFS, I don't trust anything they tell me anymore......

As far as catching him, they are extremely fast, and can hide in the smallest of crevices..... either carefully watch over time to see where his hide is and pull out that rock while he's in there (hopefully it's not between rocks), or grab some buckets and start pulling rock until he has no place to hide & get him out......... but I would definitely get him out of there. You also may be able to drop a piece of raw fish out in an open area and see if he comes to it, but you'll need to be quick to get him.
 
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Another thing I just read that sounds like it may work pretty good..... if you feed with a pipette or baster, start feeding near him with it. The writer stated that after a very short time, the SLF would associate the tube/baster with food, and would come flying to it as soon as it hit the water, and he was able to scoop it right out with no problem. My Skunk cleaner does this..... will swim right up & cling to the pipette and grab food as it's coming out, so I could see that working.
 
You can google "how to make a crab trap" and get a few different ideas, but basically, it's a cage with a hole in it. the crab will smell the bait inside and find it's way in to get it, and have a hard time getting out. The online tutorials are for larger crabs, but you'll get the general idea and maybe build something out of eggcrate or similar.
 
You can google "how to make a crab trap" and get a few different ideas, but basically, it's a cage with a hole in it. the crab will smell the bait inside and find it's way in to get it, and have a hard time getting out. The online tutorials are for larger crabs, but you'll get the general idea and maybe build something out of eggcrate or similar.

Ok thanks i will look into it
 
lol good luck. I gave up on mine. If i ever do catch it then it will be either sent to the fuge I'm building or put back into the store. It has a taste for cardinals.
 
A tall glass drinking glass. Place it upright leaning against the rocks with a bit of food on the bottom. Once a crab goes in, they tend to get stuck. Doesn't work for shrimp but should work for a crab. If its narrow enough the fish shouldn't go in either.
 
A tall glass drinking glass. Place it upright leaning against the rocks with a bit of food on the bottom. Once a crab goes in, they tend to get stuck. Doesn't work for shrimp but should work for a crab. If its narrow enough the fish shouldn't go in either.

Yeah i was thinking about that... Worth a try
 
lol good luck. I gave up on mine. If i ever do catch it then it will be either sent to the fuge I'm building or put back into the store. It has a taste for cardinals.

If i catch mine i might through it into then yard... Jk i will give it to the lfs
 
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