help quick! is this normal for emerald crabs!!

[Erty]

ok so i just jumped out of my chair while watching my fish and almost grabbed an emerald crab right out of the tank and tossed him on the floor. then i realized i think that my angelfish was letting it happen...

i was watching my angelfish as i fed them, because he's rather new and i'm just starting to get him to eat. he's an eibli dwarf angel. i have about 4 emerald crabs in the tank, and its a pretty new tank. i don't have a qt tank yet because these are my first few fish, but i will be getting one soon.

anyways, i think my eibli angel is breaking out with ick, but then everyday, it seems the ich goes away. then a few days later, it seems like its coming back then it goes away. i have been meaning to get some meds, but i keep thinking that maybe i was wrong because everytime i look closely, it seems the ich is gone. i'm almost positive the ich rode in with a clown tang i got at the same time as the dwarf angel but the same thing happens, it seems the tang has ich then its just gone.

so here is my question, while watching my angel, i saw it swim up to an emerald crab and just sit there, i was like well wth is it doing. it just sat next to my emerald crab and swam kinda sideways next to it. next thing i know, the crab reaches out and kinda grabs its gill, i freak out and jump up. but the angel wasn't fighting it, then the crab pulls his claw away, and sticks something in his mouth and my angel swims off to the other side of the tank slowly(not panicking at all) and swims sideways with his other side facing a different emerald crab. this crab freaks out and runs away.

my question is, are my emerald crabs playing the role of a skunk cleaner shrimp here? are they eating ich off my fish? or is my angel just a retard and letting himself get eaten by crabs?

 

[melosu58]

I personally have never heard that before but nothing surprises me in this hobby. Hopefully that`s what he`s doing. It will not be enough though. You`ll need to QT your fish and treat them and leave your tank fishless for eight weeks.

 

[Zer0]

Could be that the crabs are eating the ich cysts.. There's nothing that says they won't since they are opportunistic, and if they are hungry they'll eat whatever they can. Never seen it happen, or heard of it, but there's always a first time right? Just keep an eye on the fish and the crabs. If the fish is getting attacked by crabs, or is getting freaked out then i would say get him away from the crabs.

Also.. since your fish have ich, and you plan to medicate, you aren't going to medicate your entire display tank right? At least not with any copper meds... That would surely kill off any of your inverts such as the emerald crabs, and then the copper is more than likely going to turn your live rock a nasty brown color. Beware.

 

[Erty]

yea i have done a lot of research on it, and i'm afraid to do anything at the moment because of copper meds. i know it will kill my crabs and shrimp and snail and hermits.

here is another question. i know there is meds that kill ich that do not contain any copper. is it ok to use that in my display tank?

here is what is in my display tank atm(its not much its a new tank)

1 eibli dwarf angel
1 clown tang
1 diamond back goby
1 hi fin banded shrimp goby
4 emerald crabs
2 turbo snails
4-6 blue legged hermits
like 50-80 pounds of live rock
some random worms on the live rock

the reason i haven't taken any action is because i'm scared of what will happen if i med, using a NON copper(no copper in it at all) based med in my display and i don't have a qt tank, and i can't get one untill wends and after that i will have to still find a way to get some bacteria in there before i can put fish in. basically my qt tank is not available till wends, and after that it won't have bacteria for god knows how long, so i think i would do more damage trying to rush set up a qt and then end up killing the fish with amonia.

could i rely on a skunk cleaner shrimp if i went out and bought one to get all those stupid ich parasites off my fish? would he stop it? can i use a non copper based med in my display without killing everything?

what do you guys recommend, i'm new to the hobby, but i really don't want to make any amature mistakes, and i want to keep my fish healthy and let them lead a long life. HELP!

 

[melosu58]

IMO and IME they dont work. Anything that is reef safe will not get rid of the parasite in your tank. Read these

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure: A Quarantine Tank for Everything by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com

Marine Ich/Cryptocaryon irritans - A Discussion of this Parasite and the Treatment Options Available, Part I by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com

Marine Ich/Cryptocaryon irritans - A Discussion of this Parasite and the Treatment Options Available, Part II by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com

 

[Erty]

ah yea, i have read all those articles and i just read them all over again. i'm still a bit lost in the case of what to do thank you for the input and the links tho, it is much appreciated.

 

[Jimbo7]

Your best bet is to just go get the QT tank. At minimum you dont need much more then a tank, clean and fresh SW and a HOB filter really. A cycled sponge filter is preferred. you will just have to do more PWC's. Should be right around 100 for those size fish, its an expense no one likes, but its part of the responsibility we take with these animals. Search craigslist, a local reefer or maybe even try and loan one off your LFS owner if you are trying to save some money.