Reef-r-madness5150 Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Are emerald crabs safe in a small nano tank? I put one in to control bubble algae but hear about them eating your corals and other crabs/snails in the tank. Link to comment
GobyDude Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Are emerald crabs safe in a small nano tank? I put one in to control bubble algae but hear about them eating your corals and other crabs/snails in the tank. The quick answer... most are. I've heard that the smaller ones are a little better at not destroying the corals. And the ones with the more rounded claws eat more algae and the ones with sharp claws are more likely to eat meat (aka fish). But I would say just watch it and if you start to see it picking at corals ask your LFS if they have a return/exchange policy. Link to comment
Bonsai Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 But I would say just watch it and if you start to see it picking at corals ask your LFS if they have a return/exchange policy. That's true, but also realize that most of the time an Emerald Crab is picking at a coral, he's picking at the algae growing between your zoanthids, for instance, rather than eating the zoanthid polyp itself. So yeah, in general, Green Emerald Crabs are reef safe. Link to comment
aph Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 I asked the same question when I was thinking about getting an emerald crab. I thought they were really cool, but I didn't want them to mess with my zoas. I heard the argument go both ways. Some emerald crabs are gentlemen, some are jerks. Most said that their emerald crabs were 'model citizens.' But at the same time, I have seen a picture on the web of an emerald crab holding polyps over his head, LOL. There are also videos on YouTube of emerald crabs trying to catch fish that are swimming close by. In my personal experience, my emerald crab was completely reef safe. He never bothered my corals. He dug around in a zoa patch once, but he was just picking out algae from between the polyps. I say go for it... they are great algae eaters, and fun to watch. Just be sure to keep an eye on him, and keep in mind that there is that small chance that you may have to get him out of there if he turns into a threat. Link to comment
Barker Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 My mother-in-laws ended up eating two chromis, then she finally caught it and got rid of it. I never had any problems with mine, though. Link to comment
SaltyVT Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Mines eats everything but the bubble algae, but it looks cool so... Link to comment
fish_chips Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Mine didn't do too much damage intentionally. Just knocked around some frags that weren't secured. Link to comment
midna Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 Liked mine when I had one. Looking for another to go in my 10g actually. Link to comment
Tomsense76 Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 Personally, I think they aren't trying to catch the fish per se..... I think they're just trying to keep the fish away from them.....You know, defense.... I had a small emerald in my tank too. And it too ate all sorts of algae except for the bubble algae. Then one day it molted, and the nassarius snails killed it.... :'( In the future, I will never, ever put a nassarius in my tank again.... (And no, they weren't welks. And yes, they did indeed kill the crab, not just eat the carcass) Link to comment
Smurf Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 Personally, I think they aren't trying to catch the fish per se.....I think they're just trying to keep the fish away from them.....You know, defense.... I had a small emerald in my tank too. And it too ate all sorts of algae except for the bubble algae. Then one day it molted, and the nassarius snails killed it.... :'( In the future, I will never, ever put a nassarius in my tank again.... (And no, they weren't welks. And yes, they did indeed kill the crab, not just eat the carcass) Pics? I've never even heard of zombee nassarius'. Haha My emerald crab was wonderful. He took care of all the bubble algae in my tank. I had quite a big outbreak but he took care of it. I plan on getting on for my bros 5.5g. Link to comment
OB1 Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 They do grow bigger and they do push things over. I've had this guy over a year. I moved him to my ugly tank because he was a bulldozer. Now he spars with my purple lobster for chunks of food. Here he's hanging out on a powerhead. Link to comment
smarcus3 Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 They do grow bigger and they do push things over. I've had this guy over a year. I moved him to my ugly tank because he was a bulldozer. Now he spars with my purple lobster for chunks of food. Here he's hanging out on a powerhead. thats a beast. freakin huge. Link to comment
nu2reef Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 my emerald crab is reef safe as well..... he did however catch one of my peppermint shrimps and ate it. Link to comment
Marteen Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 As they get older they may start wanting to eat more meat in their diet. You can supplement this by spot feeding them some mysis shrimp as well as some nori sheets, assuming there is limited algae in your tank. Link to comment
jokercykoe Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 I had one back in the day. He was pretty well behaved and entertaining to watch. Took care of the bubble algae problem too. Does anyone know if emerald crabs will eat this type of algae? Link to comment
BustytheSnowMaam Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 I had one back in the day. He was pretty well behaved and entertaining to watch. Took care of the bubble algae problem too. Does anyone know if emerald crabs will eat this type of algae? Most likely not. Nothing eats caulerpa! I've heard people say that their emeralds ate this or that, I think most likely the critter was dying when the emerald got it. I've had 3 and never a problem. Link to comment
IMaNoob Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 just spot feed and you should be fine. mine did pick at a few zoas, but like others said i think just getting alge Link to comment
Marteen Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 I hear some urchins will eat the caulerpa for you. Otherwise you are going to have to manually trim it. Link to comment
jokercykoe Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 I hear some urchins will eat the caulerpa for you. Otherwise you are going to have to manually trim it. Ah urchins. I'll have to look into that. Thanks Link to comment
javisaman Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Mine seems to be hanging out a little too much on my green birdsnest SPS. I don't know if its eating the polyps(doesn't look like its doing damage) but it is picking something directly off the stalks! Link to comment
Marteen Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 It may be trying to get at algae growing between the polyps. Try feeding him a little Nori and see if he gives up bugging your SPS. Link to comment
CorvetteJoe Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 Mine got along fine with everything. I witnessed him picking at my zoas and daisy polyps a lot, and quite often nipped one off, which floated away to start another colony somewhere else in the tank. He never harmed the corals, he was just getting at the algae around them and something got a little too much in his claw. Mine just died recently. RIP King Kong Link to comment
annamarie421 Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 I love emerald crabs! I lost the one I've had for almost 3 years about two weeks ago. He was huge, and by far the best CUC member that I've ever had. I might have to go pick up another one at the LFS tomorrow now that I'm thinking about him. RIP Mr Crabby! My condolences to you on the loss of King Kong, CorvetteJoe. Link to comment
johnmaloney Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 urchins like to bulldoze. emerald crabs eat caulerpa brachyus. (that is what you got there - not 100% on the spelling of "brachyus" though.) - the trick to emerald crabs is to get juveniles when they like algae better. Hermits and sea hares will also eat it. My hermits devoured mine . That stuff looks great as a carpet. With that said, why don't you just pull it out? Link to comment
S197 Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 keep in mind the way they eat bubble algae is to pop it and eat the shell, so if there large enough its going to spread the spores all over the tank. An emerald will never fully get rid of bubble algae, but if they eat it, they can help keep it from taking over every spot on every rock. Link to comment
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