hermits and emerald crabs
- Thread starter lumpy
- Start date
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Emerald crabs can be risky in that they have been (rarely) known to eat corals and even fish. But that's usually only when they get very large. I'd say 99% of the time, emeralds are invaluable members of your clean up crew, and I wouldn't have a tank without a few of them.
PoppyhinNC
Reefing newb
My Emerald crabs are lazy, hangs off rocks and waits for food to drift by, they never bother anything , my hermits don't bother anything either, I put seaweed on a clip and slide it almost to the bottom of the tank, they all run as fast as they can too it and pick at it for hours, the only thing I ever had problems with were 2 pep shrimp yanking hunks off my BTA and Rock anemone, both shrimp went bye bye, gott watch the peps, some bother things and some don't
justanotherfishhead
Lisa
I have been deliberating for a while on whether to get emerald crabs. My bubble algae is getting so bad. But I've worried about people saying they grabbed their small fish and turned very aggressive as they got bigger. Is it relatively easy to trap them if they get big and mean? I just don't want to have to deal with trying to get it out later. But I am sick of the bubble algae.
Odanhammer
Reefing newb
As with anything in the clean up crew it all comes down to some level of risk.
Recall your building a system that is designed to mimic the life of the coral reef or a shoal with larger fish or maybe a just one of those small tide pools that has a one fish and some coral in it ( a micro tank)
Anyway you look at it , anything you buy has some risks to it, as each coral , fish , crab has some level of personalitliy to it. Prehaps that crab is use to eating corals , or that fish is timid as it was housed with slightly bigger fish.
As for worrying about buying any creatures for your tank , do some research at the place your buying said crab or whatever. Actually watch the tank , see how they feed them , when they feed them. After you have made a choice, make sure they is some level of return policy for if that creature doesn't work out in your tank.
I know the one place i go has ZERO return policy on marine fish , hence if i buy anything i have to make sure it will be ok. Hence why i don't buy live stock there.
As to the place i do buy my life stock from , they do take back fish and other things if they are not happy in my tank. Although he does charge a little to take it back.
Recall your building a system that is designed to mimic the life of the coral reef or a shoal with larger fish or maybe a just one of those small tide pools that has a one fish and some coral in it ( a micro tank)
Anyway you look at it , anything you buy has some risks to it, as each coral , fish , crab has some level of personalitliy to it. Prehaps that crab is use to eating corals , or that fish is timid as it was housed with slightly bigger fish.
As for worrying about buying any creatures for your tank , do some research at the place your buying said crab or whatever. Actually watch the tank , see how they feed them , when they feed them. After you have made a choice, make sure they is some level of return policy for if that creature doesn't work out in your tank.
I know the one place i go has ZERO return policy on marine fish , hence if i buy anything i have to make sure it will be ok. Hence why i don't buy live stock there.
As to the place i do buy my life stock from , they do take back fish and other things if they are not happy in my tank. Although he does charge a little to take it back.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
I would do it. The risk of them eating fish is SO SMALL. Like, I know of a handful of people that have said they had emerald crabs eat fish, compared to the gazillion on this site and others that have them in their CUC with no problem!
Bubble algae is no joke -- remove as much as you can by hand, being careful not to pop the bubbles in the tank. Get a few emeralds to (hopefully) help you take care of the stuff you can't reach, and any new ones that pop up.
justanotherfishhead
Lisa
My store said I can trade them in when they get large, I'm just worried about finding them. Hopefully those traps work if I need to. But I guess its worth the risk, as I am sick of trying to remove this bubble algae. I guess you are right, most people have no problem with them, it's just the ones that do that you hear about, like reading restaurant reveiws the people who were happy don't bother to post but the people who had the one rude server will make sure everyone knows about it.
"Bubble algae is no joke" LOL Biff. Well, the first step is admitting you have a problem right? ;)
"Bubble algae is no joke" LOL Biff. Well, the first step is admitting you have a problem right? ;)
little_fish
Moderator
fuuuuuuuuck bubble algae. I seriously wondered if that crap was going to take over at some point.
Get the smallest emerald crab you can find, they are more herbavoric (not sure that is a word) and less likely to go after your fish than the big dudes. But when they do get big they are pretty easy to trap.
Get the smallest emerald crab you can find, they are more herbavoric (not sure that is a word) and less likely to go after your fish than the big dudes. But when they do get big they are pretty easy to trap.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Herbivorous! ;)
justanotherfishhead
Lisa
I think I will order from ReefCleaners and ask John to give me 4 of the smallest he has. After the bubble algae is gone (hopefully) I will drop in some green pellets for them occasionally to make sure they are well fed. Do they eat all detritous too or just plant matter?
little_fish
Moderator
No need to feed them pellets, they will eat other algae in there and detritus
Thanks Biffy!!! Always got my back on the spelling stuff
Thanks Biffy!!! Always got my back on the spelling stuff
ErinCahir
Sausage Wrangler
They'll eat detritus. I wouldn't worry about feeding them algae after the bubble algae is gone.
NINJA'D by the fish. :D
NINJA'D by the fish. :D
Bifferwine
I am a girl
They will also eat whatever food your fish miss. They are good scavengers.
swninja
Reefing newb
fair warning, i just added a couple to my tank. So far I've seen them devour two mexican turbo snails, harass the hell out of a green LTA and i'm missing two little peppermint shrimp. Can't blame the shrimp on them, but they're the only ones in the tank that could've done it. Mine are pretty big though, try to get them when they're smaller and keep them well fed. Think mine picked up some bad habits somwhere along the way.
little_fish
Moderator
Peppermint shrimp are nocturnal, im not surprised you havent seen them. I would only see mine once every few months.
swninja
Reefing newb
Yeah. Thats why i havent completly blamed their disapperance on the emeralds. But ive got my suspicions.
