Pictures of my porcelain crab catching plankton.

[Drysocket]

I couldn't find him when I got home from work today, but after I added some Kent Phytoplex, he came right out and started sticking out his net thingies.  If anyone knows what you call those, please inform.  He holds them up and they open like little fans or nets.  then he folds them down and eats whatever's on them.  It's really cool to watch.

 

Here he is with two up...

 

.....and one up.

 

:homer:mmmm...Plankton:homer:

[fishymissy]

Excellent photos!!

Sorry I don't know the what he is using to catch the plankton with. Maybe modified gills????

 

How reef safe are those crabs? Okay with anemones and clams?

[mysk]

thoses are his mandables a couple of modfied legs which covers their mouth area and they use it to grab food.  lobsters have it also most shell fish have it

 

 

Mysk = im a chef i like to eat the fishies to

[flaunt]

drysocket,

i noticed in one of the pictures that you have a coral banded shrimp in the same aquarium... i have heard that these guys aren't compatible with other shrimp, but i figured that incompatibility extended to other crustaceans as well.  have you ever seen him pick on your porcelain?  cool looking crab, i'd also be interested to know how reef-safe they are!

[Korbin]

Has the porcelin crab accepted any food other than phytoplankton?  

 

Oh, and careful with that phytoplankton stuff.  I heard it can polute your tank fast.

[Drysocket]

FishyMissy - They seem to be reef safe, but they will take an anemone as a host.  On liveaquaria.com, it claims that they'll sometimes compete with a clown for an anemone.

 

Flaunt - That is a coral banded in the background. It's been 3 days now and they just seem to ignore each other.  The shrimp has gotten near the crab a couple times, but never messed with him.

 

Korbin - I've put shrimp pellets in near the porcelain, but he doesn't seem interested in them.  My hermits and coral banded seem to love them, though.  I was kinda wary of dumping the phyto in, because I've heard that it can pollute. The stuff really stinks, too.  

 

(Edited by Drysocket at 1:21 pm on May 21, 2002)

[printerdown01]

What exactly is phytoplex? I know that it is phytoplankton... but is it alive or is it preserved (in other words refrigerated or not refrigerated)? Also on another note: the appendages that draw food into the mouth of the porcelain crab are called "feeding fans" (I know, I know, it doesn't sound very scientific). These fans like most suspension feeding apparatuses have nematocysts, which contain a very weak venom (much weaker than the nematocysts of a anemone) and cilia that move the captured food into the mouth of the capturer. If you look closely at your crab you will notice that he only has 3 pairs of walking legs (crabs normally have 4)... The 4th set is tucked away under the crab, and have evolved into the feeding fans! Fun little lesson there, that will let you take an even closer look at your new little specimen. :-D Hope this answers your question drysocket... By the way, he is VERY cool!

[printerdown01]

OK posted this before and never recieved a reply... but here it goes again: Does anyone out there have any reviews on different name brand planktons?? The only one that I have heard rave reveiws about is DT's... Also is there anyone who tried a plankton mix and decided that it was just garbage?  What are eveyone's thoughs on this... -related to the topic above, as procelains are suspension feeders (this info will also help anyone with featherdusters and possibly clams -but not much info is out there on this subject yet)...

[thegr8tdane]

I use Kent Zoe. If that counts. Too new to know any difference tho.

[Drysocket]

Holy smokes.  Thanks for the info Printerdown.  

 

You're right he's only got 6 walking legs.  I didn't even think about it until I read that.  I did think that something was wierd - I just couldn't put my finger on it.

 

I'm using Kent Marine Phytoplex.  According to the bottle(not refrigerated) it contains Nannochloropsis, a small green flagellate and Tetraselmis, a large green flagellate, and Tahitian isochrysis, a small yellow flagellate.  

....and a drop of Retsin for fresh breath.  

 

I don't know what any of that really is.  

 

I assume that since it's not refrigerated, that means that it's not live, eh?

[printerdown01]

No prob. I figured you would like to know a little more about the "feeding fans" . Thanks you guys for the plankton responces... Greatly App! I like the Retsin, LOL! Traditionally if it isn't refridgerated it isn't alive, but there might be a few exceptions... The ingredient list is impressive, and it certainly sounds like your crab enjoys it! Especially if he started filter feeding right after it was added to the water... Question: has he picked a coral as a host yet ? -just curious...

[Drysocket]

He hasn't gotten on any of my corals yet.     But he has been hiding under the hammer for the last two days.   He doesn't seem to mind it flopping around on his back.

[Son Of Skyline]

Quote: from Drysocket on 10:11 am on May 21, 2002[br]I was kinda wary of dumping the phyto in, because I've heard that it can pollute. The stuff really stinks, too.  

 

I read on an info pamphlet on DT's and it mentioned that if your DT's smell bad, then the phytoplankton is dead and should not be put in your tank. This is a statement from the company itself. My bottle of DT's don't smell at all. You may need to get a new bottle!

[Drysocket]

Hmmm....I looked for a date on the bottle.  Didn't see any.

What is "DT's"?  Is it a brand name?

[Sahin]

Nice crab hehehe, reminds me of my freshwater wood/singapore shrimp...they had those fan appendages as well, instead of claws.  They used to come out at night to feed.

[printerdown01]

Dry Socket, yes, DT's in a name brand of phyto (sold live). Thus, it has gone bad if it smells bad ('cause it is dead). I looked it up today (while at the fish store) and your plankton is "preserved" (dead). It is supposed to be dead, so no worries about the smell . If it didn't smell I would be concerned that there wan't anything in the bottle (as dead things tend to smell) . It looks like your crab enjoys it, which is what counts! Also be wary of over feeding with the stuff (highly recommend doing less than the recommended dosage).

[Drysocket]

I agree Printerdown.  I'm thinking half dosage once, maybe twice a week.  The bottle suggests 3 times a week.  

 

The stuff stinks, but it's not neccessarily a bad stink.  It's a lot like nori(sushi seaweed), only stronger.

[Kapelakin]

Those are cool crabs.  Back in the days of my green carpet anenome (I know, I was talked into it by a trusted reefer when I was young and dumb(er) )  I had one, which happily shared the carpet with my two pink skunk clowns.  Anyway, it seemed to filter feed on whatever was in the tank, but it was a well established tank.  When the anenome was dying, it clung on until the last, then completely disappeared.  I never found a skeleton or anything.  

 

So far I've used the Marine Snow by Two Little Fishies.  No problem with it fouling the water.  It contains five kinds of phytoplankton, dried seaweed, zooplankton, fish oil, and citric acid.  It has an almost sweet "spirulina-y" smell to it.  IMO, your phyto shouldn't smell foul.  There's a difference between dead and rotting.

 

Gr8Dane, Zoe is a mix of vitamins, not phytoplankton, so it's a supplement, not a food.

[mmarquis]

I also have one of those crabs, tho I call him an anenome crab.    I have had mine for about 6 months and he is doing great.  They are strictly micro feeders from what I have read and observed.  Mine has molted a couple of times.  He will sometime cruise around the different corals or will sometimes stay in one are for a couple weeks at a time.  Mine seemed to host with my torch coral untill my two falsies kicked him out.  Now he rotates between a pearl bubble and a green polyp rock.  He also will be hangin' with the clove polyps from time to time.  They are great and from what I have observed reef safe.  My co-habitats with an emerald/mithrax crab fine.