Murderer!!!!

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JoeA

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Sep 15, 2004
Messages
114
Location
Eastern New York
Ok First off I bought 2 pepermint shrimp and now only have one. I "HAD" an emerald crab too and saw him just today wandering around the tank. Then while I was looking at my tank I saw the lil' emerald crab 1/2 in a hole....and I thought he was stuck. Soooo I used the handle on my scrubber and tryed to gently get him out..............then I saw his shell and leggs just fall off!!!!

Ok so now all I have in my tank right now is one scared shrimp and some coral. Last I checked Corals aren't aggressive.:p So my question is what do you suppose ate my shrimp and crab? I know there is a pretty big bristle worm in there ...but could he kill the inverts? :confused: :confused:
 
the crab has probably just molted and is in hiding until his new shell grows back.
could be the shrimp died and was eaten....
 
no it was no molt.....shrimp is mia, and the crab was definatly dead. I saw him just 1-2 hours prior. When the shell poped off I could see the insides.
 
I have no idea what got your stock but I too lost a cleaner shrimp and a hermit crab overnight last week. Still havnt figure out what did it. Not a single trace of the shrimp and nothing but an empty shell and a couple legs from the crab. I'm Clueless.
 
I saw 2 emerald crab claws in the back of my tank. Not sure if it was carcass or molt. I only see 2 of my 4? emerald crabs regularly.
 
From my experience I would not say it was a bristle worm. I have about 8 of those ugly things in my tank and they act like a cleaner crew the same as my crabs. I have had no experience with pepermint shrimp. Here is what I think.

1) The peppermint shrimp killed it. (not likely, but who knows sometimes)
2) Our friend the crab outgrew his shell and was trying to find something that fit while he was in hole and fell prey to something else or died of stress. Their shells are their home and their armor. (crabs grow like all other animals and need bigger homes)
3) (not to insult you) It still could have been his molt, but if he is a large crab you should be able to find him hiding.

Crabs are the toughest animals I have ever owned and I have never had one die, even in the worst water conditions.
 
Emerald crabs do not have the "Shells" like hermit crabs... Most likely it was water quality that killed your inverts, phosphates copper or nitrates can kill inverts easily and of coarse the nitrites and ammonia levels will kill.
 
i know it is off subject, but since you know about all of these demises, maybe someon here can help? My tank started with a mollie i converted from fw to brackish to sw. i added a tomato clown last week, and a black and white striped damsel 2 days ago. now the mollie and clownprimarily lay low while damsel schwartzeneger struts his stuff all day taking the majority of the food. i am not certain, but i feel the others are in danger. my instinct tell me to add another tomato clown, since at first he took dominance over the damsel, but i don't want to lose any by overstress. i love the clown and mollie, and am tempted to return the damsel, whom my wife really likes. :?
 
Damsels sometimes are aggressive to other tankmates. The most docile damsel I have had is the green reef chromis. All other Damsels I have had are meaner than what I was told at the LFS.
 
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