crab again sorry

[clint0310]

I put a pic of that crab in the gallery under the crab section dont know yea it let me put it there and not here can you please take a look and let me know think you for your time

(I'll put it in for you, Poseidon)

[BubbaWPB]

I don't recognize the type of crab it is... I remove any unidentified crabs to my refugium, just to be safe.

...but you do have lots of Aiptasia... you might want to deal with that before it really gets out of control... here's one article on the nasty little things... you can find more by doing a google search on Aiptasia.

[clint0310]

i know thats right been taking em out left and right with hot water
its a long road hard to get rid of i think

[pdfb55]

ya there are a lot in there

[Poseidon]

I would get that crab out, and flush em!

[dragonladylea]

Mike you Meanie!!! Poor little crab!!

[Poseidon]

Mike you Meanie!!! Poor little crab!!

WAHAHAHAAHAHAA

Crabs have no place in MY tank!

[dragonladylea]

Maybe I should start Dragonladylea's home for wayward and unwanted crabs!! I have everyother kind of critter running around. Anyone know how to catch a loose Gecko? Um make that two.

[Poseidon]

LOL! I will send you any I find in my tank! As for the Gecko, how about an Owl?

[optical]

hey clint, that kind of looks like an emerald crab...but not positive.
i had one in my tank and it almost totally wiped out a colony of buttons in a few days. it did eat a lot of bubble algae though.

[clint0310]

he dont seem to be doing much but now he is coming out in the day sometimes i think Iam going to get him out
I tryed to trap him for a couple of nights now with no luck
any suggs will be tryed

thank you clint

[optical]

did you try to just pick em up with your fingers? it shouldnt be that difficult to catch em.
as far as your aptasia problem...i used joe's juice, which is basically a kalkwasser solution. it comes with a little seringe though so you can squirt a little on each one and it will totally fry them. if you have an elegance coral, you can gently press the polyps on the aptasia to kill it, or a peppermint shrimp will sometimes feed on them, or a copperband butterfly fish will usually eat them. if you dont get rid of them soon, they will get out of control as did in my friends tank in wich he thought they were a good thing and a sign of good water quality. hahaha! it took us an hour to erradicate them. i wouldnt worry about them too much and if the crab doesnt eat your corals, just leave him in there but keep an eye out.

[Poseidon]

Definately NOT a Mytrax crab! They have hairy legs and and much larger claws.

I would SCEWER (sp?) him with a coat hanger....

[optical]

how can you tell its not a Mithrax Sculptus by this picture poseidon? why do you have such a vendetta against crabs anyway? you sound like the lfs guy by me..."the only good Decapod is a dead Decapod! ...on my plate at dinner time."

[Poseidon]

This is a Mithrax Sculptous:



The crab posted carries its claws in much closer to its body, lacks any hair on its legs, and is clearly not green!

As for why I don't think crabs have a place in Reef tanks, well crabs are opprotunistic omnivores by nature! To me that means they will eat whatever they can, whenever they can get it. I have tried at least 6 different types of hermits, ALL of them ate SNAILS, some of them ate coral polyps, most of them irritated GSP, yellow polyps, and of course acroporas. Snails are safer, and if you get a good mix, they can accomplish all the hermits can, WITHOUT killing each other! I have formed my opinion based on personal experience AND what I have read, so given that I choose NO CRABS!

Even here on our quiet little board, you can find SEVERAL threads where Mithrax crabs have turned carnivore and eaten Nemo! I believe it is pretty well undisputed at this point that hermits WILL eat snails at some point, so why spend money on crabs that are not as effective at cleaning glass as snails are?

[optical]

i know i know, i was just wondering...i agree with what your sayin' mike. i have 4 hermits in my tank and im just waiting for them to act up, until then ill leave em in there, but the second i see somethings up, their gone.

[clint0310]

thank you guys for all your help I find so much helpfull stuff on thie forum it is unreal it is nice you guys are here for help when needed
as for the crab
i tryed to catch him with hand
bottle trick
stab him with a blind stick for the window with a needle on it
no luck so far butttttt I will get him oh by the way there is two of them
the other one is diff he is tan with spines on his legs

thank you for your time
clint

[optical]

try a more stealthy attack. turn the lights off for at least an hour and go in with some night vision goggles. you must be lowered down from an air vent by a rope otherwise they might suspect you and skedaddle back in a hole.
keep one hand on the rope and a skewer in the other. move silent but quickly. whatever you do, dont make a move untill its facing the other way!
good luck....


ps. this message will self destruct in 10 seconds.

[optical]

..

[WillieM96]

I've been looking at that picture for days and I JUST saw the crab in it for the first time about 2 minutes ago. I think I'm losing it.