littlephish Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I know most people say there isn't a need but the crab is attacking my corals. Does this mean I need to supplement his diet with seaweed? I pushed/tapped him off my stunner chalice today when I saw him doing this, and I just fed him the previous day and even made sure he got some little shrimp. Link to comment
Rollermonkey Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Dou you see actual flesh being removed from the corals? Remember, those guys see things we can't. Maybe there's a really yummy microalgae on the chalice? But, yes, you can supplement it's diet if you want. Link to comment
littlephish Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 Yes, it literally removed flesh. I watched as it pulled a few small pieces off. Now..... I will say I saw a few little crustaceans running around my rocks today. They were a little larger than the copepods that are living in my tank now and you can see a little black or red in those bodies also? However, I did not see any where he was picking. I guess could I have some kind of infestation or algae I can't see? One other small note. I fed Cyclopes, frozen, and the stunner was eating it (I watched it take in 2 pieces a least). Link to comment
abbycat Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Feed him and he will knock it off. Does he come out when you feed your fish? When I had one I just fed a little heavy and there goo if you over feed because they are great at finding every last drop of food Link to comment
khriistian Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Whenever I used to feed my fish when I had one of those, I would give him a little piece and he would never come back from his cave for nothing. If he is trying to eat your corals and you want to keep him, I would try feeding a little bit. Link to comment
gsgentry Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I got rid of mine the other day for messing with my corals. It just wasn't worth the risk to me. Link to comment
hypostatic Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 i would remove him from the aquarium. he is no longer reef safe, and he will resort to eating your corals whenever he feels like it Link to comment
CrazyCarl Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 +1^ I would definitely remove him. Looks like he was confusing the green spots on the chalice for algae. Mine was doing this to my bubble coral which eventually killed it. I noticed it too late. Once they get a taste for coral flesh they will continue to eat it. No matter how much or often you feed, when you aren't there he is eating those corals... Link to comment
littlephish Posted February 26, 2014 Author Share Posted February 26, 2014 He was actually eating the purple flesh not the green. Maybe he is just a @##$, I am going to see if I can get the LFS to buy him back. BTW, this is the larger of the 2 that I have so maybe that somehow is contributing to it? (Would that even make sense? I am pretty sure he is the culprit to a nassarius being eaten when i was on vacation also.) Link to comment
CrazyCarl Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Either way give him and his little buddy the boot to be safe. IME Emeralds are not reef safe with LPS or soft corals, maybe in a large tank that is sps dominant they won't be as adept to eat corals, in smaller tanks it seems its only a matter of time before they take a taste. I think the exception is the emeralds that ARE reef safe and this is more the rule (from what I have read and seen). I caught mine by putting a few pieces of mysis in a shot glass and leaning it against live rock. Link to comment
littlephish Posted February 26, 2014 Author Share Posted February 26, 2014 I've had luck attracting them with a piece of shrimp on a barbeque skewer.. Maybe i will just bbq them if they wouldn't be such a pain to deshell so small. Link to comment
littlephish Posted February 26, 2014 Author Share Posted February 26, 2014 On another note... if im getting rid of these guys what other invertebrates would could be recommended? They did a great job at keeping my tank clean. Link to comment
abbycat Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 If its well fed it will back off the coral. When I was battling cyno I didn't feed that often n mine would go for my Kenya tree all the time. Now that I feed normal he doesn't do it at all. They want meaty food and you may find it being lazy on the algae if you start to target feed it Link to comment
CrazyCarl Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Unfortunately they are really good cleaners and if you have bubble algae, they are pretty much the only thing appropriate for a nano that will take care of it. You could try a few scarlet hermits, they are not as efficient, but they wont bother anything and they are pretty colorful, maybe the occasional snail might get killed for its shell. If you're looking for a crab I would recommend porcelain anemone crabs which are reef safe, but they wont clean any algae. Look for banded trochus snails for algae. I have 2 in a 16 gallon and it seems like they do 90% of the work on the rocks and glass. Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 You might try getting a different one. Emerald crabs and be hit or miss. Link to comment
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