Crab ate electric flame scallop.

[Carborandum]

Hello all. I recently added an electric flame scallop to my tank and it was doing excellent until I awoke today and found that it had a white crab living inside of it. The crab ate the insides of the scallop. Does anybody know what kind of crab this is ?

[AbsoluteFaye]

I can't help you but wow that crab is weird looking! Good luck and sorry to hear about your scallop.

[Beengirl]

Sorry about the scallop. And I agree, that is a creepy ghostly looking crab. Don't know what it is, tho.

[Carborandum]

Thanks for your input. I have searched and seen some similar looking crabs, but can't seem to see anything about this crab in particular.

[User Name]

Durckheimia genus of crab. Few pictures of this crab on the net. Try google image, Durckheimia caeca for a picture.

[Carborandum]

Originally Posted by User Name

Durckheimia genus of crab. Few pictures of this crab on the net. Try google image, Durckheimia caeca for a picture.

Thanks a lot. I found this: http://species-identification.org/sp...heimia%20caeca

[mr_X]

Those flame scallops are filter feeders and difficult to keep alive long term. I wouldn't condemn the crab just yet.

[Carborandum]

Returned to tank to find emerald crab eating this guy.

[AbsoluteFaye]

Eating your other crab?

[Carborandum]

Yeah he ate the crab that was in the scallop.

[Fishstuff45]

I see its dead but it could be an albino of something because it looks kind of albino.

[TommyP]

neat looking crab if he wasn't such a critter. I'm thinking of adding an electric sea scallop to my 55 tank after the holidays. How long was yours alive for?

[Carborandum]

I had mine in the tank for a little over three weeks up until yesterday when this guy ate it.

[Sniperhank]

Did you drip acclimate the scallop? What are your parameters? How long gas the tank been set up? But, like X stated, these guys are extremely hard to keep and usually don't last more than 6 months...aka timeframe to starvation. I just have trouble seeing that crab consuming a healthy invert. Crabs are opportunistic feeders. Even emerald crabs are known for eating corals, but in tanks like mine that has a ton of algae to eat have had no issues with 3 emeralds. One of which is of massive size.

[Gregcoyote]

Scallops are very difficult to keep, maybe one of the harder filter feeders especially in a reef tank. They tend to grow in turbid waters. I suspect the crab was on clean up duty.

[AnnaK]

HI! This is my first post, yay! Anyway, the crab that you had in an extremely rare creature to have in your aquarium (even rare to see one in the ocean, considering it lives inside the clam) and does NOT eat the flame scallop (disco clam)... it lives inside it and when the flame scallop is dying, the crab tends to crawl out because it is not getting food inside the dying scallop. I have had a crab (named him "Lucky") living outside the clam for 1 month now. Typically, in the ocean they cannot survive outside the clam because it is a soft shell crab and will get eaten quickly.... There is very little known about this crab ..... so if you get a flame scallop (which actually, you should not because they are very hard to keep in captivity and should be left in the ocean) and you come across this special little crab... try not to let any other creatures eat it or harm it... because what you have found is truly amazing!