marinebiologist Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 i have 2 emerald crabs in my tank and want to make it a reef tank. are they reef compatible. if not is there a certain kind of coral that i can keep with them Quote Link to comment
Splumph Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Majority of people say they are, but I think they will pick at corals if there is nothing left to eat. I haven't had any problems with mine so far, other than knocking over stuff (could very well be the snails too) Quote Link to comment
GioReef Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 I have had 2 and they have been great. I think you can keep everything with them as long as they always have things to eat. 1 Quote Link to comment
marinebiologist Posted January 21, 2009 Author Share Posted January 21, 2009 ok thanks Quote Link to comment
S197 Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 you may see them picking around corals, but there usually just eating algae thats on the rock or plug that the coral is attached to. I have seen a video of an emerald crab owning some zoa's before but every crab has a chance. You should be ok, just watch em. I even have 1 dwarf blue legged hermit that has been going for 6 months without touching a coral and only kills mexican cerith's (probably noticed his other 5 friends dissappeared after touching one) Quote Link to comment
Psychosis Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 I hand feed my emerald crab Nori, just to be on the safe side. The only thing (other than eating algae) I've ever seen him do was try to eat an Asterina starfish. No big deal. Quote Link to comment
GioReef Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Mine loves chaeto. So when i trim it from my fuge, i give a little too him. He loves it. Quote Link to comment
marinebiologist Posted January 21, 2009 Author Share Posted January 21, 2009 thanks for all of the fast reply's everyone. and do they harm cleaner shrimp? Quote Link to comment
Psychosis Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 So far, my crab only wards off my peppermint shrimp. I've seen him b*tch slap hermit crabs when they get to close, but no harm is done. He's preety much a model citizen. Quote Link to comment
GioReef Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Shrimp are fine imho Quote Link to comment
marinebiologist Posted January 21, 2009 Author Share Posted January 21, 2009 here are some pics. these guys are really fun to watch 1 Quote Link to comment
Rocket Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 (edited) I caution Emeralds with my latest experience. I feed my emerald every day. But it has still killed my Blue tang and my Lawnmower blenny, and has destroyed my bubble coral. I'm about to sautee this emerald and be done with it. But they are one hell of a GHA eater. Oh and my Emerald is no longer green. It is Purple and dark brown now. Edited January 21, 2009 by Rocket Quote Link to comment
Koshmar Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 I had one that slapped my mantis shrimp with its claw. Then my mantis slapped back... Before it was killed, it was a really interesting little guy. It always picked at algae and was constantly moving. Most of the posts I've read seem to suggest that once they get on the large side they start going "rogue" and killing tankmates. I believe you can avoid this by getting a female. You can tell the difference from the claws. The males usually have a sharp tip while the females have blunt tips on their claws. RIP Mi Migo.... Quote Link to comment
jenisiz Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 I had one that slapped my mantis shrimp with its claw. Then my mantis slapped back... Before it was killed, it was a really interesting little guy. It always picked at algae and was constantly moving. Most of the posts I've read seem to suggest that once they get on the large side they start going "rogue" and killing tankmates. I believe you can avoid this by getting a female. You can tell the difference from the claws. The males usually have a sharp tip while the females have blunt tips on their claws. RIP Mi Migo.... Very true...females are generally smaller in this species and are less likely to attack tankmates...they are great algae eaters though... Quote Link to comment
hooligan_78 Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 My emeralds NEVER came out in the day. I had 2 in a 10 gallon and they got along like champs. Quote Link to comment
marinebiologist Posted January 21, 2009 Author Share Posted January 21, 2009 when people say they feed there emeralds what do they feed them? Quote Link to comment
Psychosis Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 You can feed them Nori (sushi seaweed) or other kinds of prepared algae. Excess Chaeto from a fuge works well to. My emerald crab is up and about at all hours, munching away at this or that. Quote Link to comment
iamborg Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 (edited) Is emerald crab feather duster safe? Either semi-big ones feather duster or really tiny ones on the rock. Edited January 21, 2009 by iamborg Quote Link to comment
jamesnmandy Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 i would say no, they constantly pick at and eat anything that will come off the rocks Quote Link to comment
iamborg Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 i would say no, they constantly pick at and eat anything that will come off the rocks But what would be a good CUC for the hair algae on the LR. My LR has algae, one big feather duster living in the rock, 1 middle size feater duster and many many very small waving ones. please advise Quote Link to comment
jenisiz Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 But what would be a good CUC for the hair algae on the LR. My LR has algae, one big feather dusterliving in the rock, 1 middle size feater duster and many many very small waving ones. please advise Sea Hares...some types of turbos...a mexican turbo will Quote Link to comment
marinebiologist Posted January 22, 2009 Author Share Posted January 22, 2009 i was watching my emeralds and noticed that one got on the bottom of a rock rubbing its back into the sand. is it just doing it for fun or is it a disease or do they do that when they are molting? Quote Link to comment
on_ice Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 I think a emerald crab is my best bet to clean up my tank. I have excessive chaeto growing that I want to get rid of, along with a recurring GHA problem. Should this be my last addition to my CUC? How much are they? Think everything in my signature will be ok with one? Quote Link to comment
marinebiologist Posted January 22, 2009 Author Share Posted January 22, 2009 emeralds are around 8 to 10 $ at my lfs. as for being safe for the tank all emeralds are different. some leave everything alone and some kill everything. i just added 2 emeralds yesterday and they were my first additions so i dont really know how they will do once i start to add other members of the cuc. Quote Link to comment
daaznmofo Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 i bought 2 emerald crabs to take care of a lil bubble algae. at first one of them was picking at the stem of my duncans. it was just pinching off tissue for it. i pushed it away and hasn't picked on anything else. the took care of my bubble algae and are constantly cleaning my rockwork and corals. Quote Link to comment
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