sally lightfoot crabs, friend or foe

[reefpanda]

whats the deal with these. some of the sources say that these crabs are peaceful , but others say that once they get full siye they prettz much become a nightmare.
can someone with some experience with these litte critters give me some... idk info on them
thanks

 

[yote]

I had one for nearly 2 years and he never bothered anything

 

[reefpanda]

really this is news
i hear there very skilled hunters and with hunt fish and tear up sessile inverts

 

[daugherty]

they can and will hunt fish but sometimes they dont

 

[dcantucson]

I have 4-5 of them and have never seen them doing questionable activities.

 

[winyfrog]

I have kept them for years with no issues.

side note: all crabs are opportunist hunters and can sometimes become pests.

 

[reefpanda]

I

side note: all crabs are opportunist hunters and can sometimes become pests.

i know that, but i hear alot more about hte sally crabs, that there really fast and the sit on rock ledges and pounce on fish swimming in the water column

 

[yote]

Sallys are fast.And there plenty fast enough to catch a fish when they want to.
The sally I had wouldn't chase the fish,but would go into a defensive posture when a fish got too close.
But he fell prey to a mantis one fateful night,and I hadnt replaced him.

 

[Bifferwine]

I had a pair of sally lightfoots, they didn't touch anything for a year or so. Then I watched them start taking swipes at fish as they swam by. Didn't think anything of it. The swiping behavior continued. Then I watched them catch and eat two firefish and a sixline wrasse right in front of my eyes. From my experience, FOE.

 

[Melosu58]

I had one for a couple years and never had any problem.

 

[mcmusashi5]

the only problem i ever had was a shrimp that was homisidal. the small crabs i had posed no problem

 

[Kwater]

They get agresive and distructive.( Like my spelling.). They should not be bought because the downside is way bigger that the upside. I know a guy who had one that was a nightmear