Crabs in SPS

[dodofish]

Hi there everyone! I purchased 4 SPS colonies that all have crabs living in them. One of the colonies has 3 crabs in it - one of the crabs is transparent. You can only see him when he moves. Are these crabs a good thing or not? If they are good do I need to feed them?

Any adivice or experience would be much appreciated.

TIA!

[petpoor]

I have three of the little crabs in two of my acro colonies.,, i call them a bandit crab,cause they look like they have a little mask on the way their eyes have color around them. They have lived there for over a yr now and I may be wrong but do not think they will cause any harm to the acro. Only time I really see them move is when I feed the fish they scurry to catch pieces of food, reaching out of the branches with their claws. But you better wait on some other opinions of them, cause there are many here who know far more than me about sps and what will bother them. The pink birdsnest in the back left of this pic has two of them living in it and have been there since i got this colony a yr ago

Tom

[Buzzard]

Arco crabs are natural inhabitants and are said to be very beneficial to their host colony. They eat mucus and detritus, clean the colony, and some have said that they may stimulate polyp extension and aid overall health.

My crabs migrate from colony to colony. Here’s a picture one of them:

[SueT]

The bandit acropora crabs and there is a purple-ish acropora crab that are fine for inhabiting sps corals. The problem is with the hairy crabs with blue eyes. Removing the hairy ones by prying them out of a colony is a pita. They will cause destruction on the branches where they sit. These pictured are fine as are the purple ones.

Practical Fishkeeping mag's. April 2003-Featured reef system.

[zhenya]

I have abot three of the bandit acro crabs and have not seen any problems,but I did find one like Sue described and removed it.Here's a pic of the hairy with dark claws variety...

[dodofish]

I think I am in the clear. None of the crabs that I have are hairy. So I guess I'll leave them be. However, they do not look like any of the ones posted either. The one that is pretty cool is tranparent (clear)- you can only see him when he moves. Does anyone know anything about this creature? The colonies are doing well so I will leave things alone. I need to get a camera so I can post some pics.

Thanks again!

[reewik]

I have a banded that I just moved to another colony. i have a fairly new acro with really timy little white crabs that look like they are a little hairy.. any idea folks?