sahara910 Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 We were told to purchase brine shrimp (the frozen cubes) and defrost one and feed it over a week... that seems like a lot for one emerald (red) crab that eats algae though isnt it? And should I feed it every day? just 1x or 2x? All I have is him some hermits and snails Link to comment
Shack Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 You really dont even need brine shrimp. Personally, I would use pellets, a couple every 2-3 days, and in combination with the algae, you should have a very happy emerald crab. Check to see if he is eating the pellets, to see how many exactly you should be giving him. Link to comment
sahara910 Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 You really dont even need brine shrimp. Personally, I would use pellets, a couple every 2-3 days, and in combination with the algae, you should have a very happy emerald crab. Check to see if he is eating the pellets, to see how many exactly you should be giving him. are the pellets specifically for the crab... ?the feeding thing is something I havent mastered thats what Im working on learning all about now long before I add a fish!!! Link to comment
Shack Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 are the pellets specifically for the crab... ?the feeding thing is something I havent mastered thats what Im working on learning all about now long before I add a fish!!! I would get formula one small pellets, here is a description of it for you. You can get a thing of it for 6 dollars, if not less: Freshwater and Marine. A perfect soft and moist pellet packed in nitrogen flushed foil bags for maximum freshness. Main characteristics are increased palatability and easy digestion. Contains garlic to aid in disease resistance, krill for color enhancing and fresh seafood as well as shrimp, plankton and Spirulina. Red in color it has a high protein content. This food is intended for carnivorous and omnivorous fish in both freshwater and marine environments. Comes in small and medium pellet sizes. Use Medium for fish that are four inch long and more. Ingredients Shrimp, plankton, sardine, soybean, wheat flour, salmon egg oil, lecithin, spirulina, fish oil, minerals (calcium chloride, potassium iodide, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, magnesium carbonate, zinc sulfate), garlic, MPAXTM (Marine Protein Amino eXtract: fish meals, hydrolysate's, select amino acids (arginine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, cystine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine)), vitamins (stabilized vitamin C, biotin, beta carotene, cyanocobalamin, niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, vitamin E), preservatives (ethoxyquin, potassium sorbate), amino acids (dl- methionine, L-lysine), carotenoid pigments (astaxanthin, canthaxanthin) and beta glucan. Link to comment
jamesnmandy Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 why are we target feeding a emerald crab now....?? mine have always been fine getting whatever they can get Link to comment
makonut Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Emerald Crab I had loved either red or green algae I bought dried at the LFS. I attached it to a floating clip that suctioned to the side, placed it low near a rock, and the crab tore pieces off to eat. My lawnmower blenny also at the pieces the crab let float free. Good idea to supplement. Even thought they prefer algae, they will also eat meat, so if pickings are slim, they will munch on slower neighbors. Mine did, so I sent him back to the LFS. Link to comment
Shack Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 why are we target feeding a emerald crab now....?? mine have always been fine getting whatever they can get Because its fun to watch them eat the pellets? Seriously though, you are right most of the time, they should be fine getting whatever they can get, but just to ensure that they are getting enough, especially if you think you have a larger CUC then you should, then you just feed maybe 2 pellets to it every 3 days or so. Link to comment
jamesnmandy Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 i dump a couple cubes of mysis and spinulina enriched brine shrimp every few days, between that and in between i keep seaweed select algae on a clip for the tang and angel and pieces drift about...he stays quite happy Link to comment
sahara910 Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 i dump a couple cubes of mysis and spinulina enriched brine shrimp every few days, between that and in between i keep seaweed select algae on a clip for the tang and angel and pieces drift about...he stays quite happy ok so since I have the spirulina shrimp I will use that should I cut a cube into 1/4s and put a chunk in every 2 days or so? Link to comment
Jim_i Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Well, once he gets big enough he'll kill your fish in the night. Yummy! Link to comment
jamesnmandy Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Well, once he gets big enough he'll kill your fish in the night. Yummy! i have kept a lot of fish, corals, and emerald crabs, my crabs have never eaten anything but algae and mysis/brine shrimp OP, honestly, i would stop trying to figure out how to feed a natural born scavenger, they have one purpose in life, to eat what others leave behind, you can try to drop him a little here or there, but i would not put anymore thought into it Link to comment
Jim_i Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Jamesnmandy, I've had a couple of fish munched by emeralds. I wonder if you have not have had an issue since your's may not have been that large? Mine had a shell about 1.5"-2" across, legs not included. They are opportunistic scanvengers and will attack fish especially at night. At first I thought maybe my fish were just weak, but I've had Angels with chucks missing. And no, it wasn't due to lack of food. But I've never had to feed them. They've always muched on algae and whatever else is floating around. Link to comment
P-DUBS Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 mines pretty dubious......FOR NOW! Link to comment
Jim_i Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 If it wouldn't have been so aggressive he'd (she'd?) still be in my tank I really liked him. Link to comment
pismo_reefer Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 OP, honestly, i would stop trying to figure out how to feed a natural born scavenger, they have one purpose in life, to eat what others leave behind, you can try to drop him a little here or there, but i would not put anymore thought into it it'll feed itself. Link to comment
rainmkr07 Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 I feed my emerald crabs formula pellets. They love them. I feed them 1 per day. I am sure they could survive without them, but why have hungry crabs when you can throw them pellets? Link to comment
akabryanhall Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Buy a zoa frag and put it in the tank. Mine liked the blue ones with a special fondness for the tubbs variety Link to comment
Splumph Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 My emerald is always around my small purple/yellow zoa rock, like gripped on it, but there is no damage. It seems to like hanging around the zoas in general, but those especially (when I put him in the tank, he started near that rock and started immediately ripping algae off it pretty aggressively) Link to comment
Mercuryne Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 I'm going to have to chime in and agree with Bryanhall... I have an emerald in my 28G nano... Recently i've lost some blue zoa's and over the weekned.. an huge red shroom just flat out disapeared from the rock that it was attached to.. I cant come up with any other explanation than the emerald.. i have a clown and three chromis fish. a few snails and a few small blue legged hermit crabs.. My money is on the emerald ate them.....mine may have to go back to the fish store soon. Link to comment
akabryanhall Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 If you need to capture it, take a small tupperware cut a hole in the bottom, put it upside down in your sandbed against the rocks, put a small piece of frozen shrimp in there, by morning you should have a crab caught. Link to comment
jamesnmandy Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 ahhh i see all the emerald haters have emerged with their tales of super emeraldism figured it was time to pull out my ninja-crab not sure how it is i have kept them for a couple years now successfully...could it be i dont put them in a tank the size of a 5 gallon bucket? maybe so....maybe there is not enough natural crap and not enough feeding going on in a nano to satisfy them, so they have no choice but to turn to whatever they can find, they are scavengers after all personally i would say anything larger than a hermit is not NANO safe even if it is REEF safe Link to comment
Boomboy Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 why even feed your CUC, the point is that they clean up your tank, not make it messier due to having to feed more. Link to comment
sahara910 Posted January 6, 2009 Author Share Posted January 6, 2009 why even feed your CUC, the point is that they clean up your tank, not make it messier due to having to feed more. I dont particularly want to feed it I just want to make sure it has enough food. I also dont want it to eat my fish down the line!!!! speaking of... if I get 2 clowns and one "goes missing" (possible ninja crab kidnapping) does that mean I have to only have 1 clown for the rest of its life? Link to comment
voodooaria Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 +1 on feeding the little buggers I bought a beautiful little green striped mushroom and got him placed in my tank. With in ten minutes my emerald ripped him off the rock and began tearing him in little bits. I can still hear his little mushroom screams ... That's when Harold the emerald found a new home. Keep them feed if you don't want any casualties. Link to comment
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