Crabs - More a rant on them...

What is with these things?
I am up to # 4 now and this guy Has to go !!! Previous 2- Teady bear - a little coral <?> crab -
I noticed something happening to a frogspawn and Candy cane coral - all but 1 of 4 of my Margarita snails are gone...
I seen a little decorative crab - I believe it was that ? He is the size of a pencil eraser... I couldn't see him doing to much...I know he is there and will go too...
I finally seen a big crab last night...definitely a good inch !
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/reefs/guamimg/crustacea/xanthidae/Images/11.jpg
At least very similar to him... I know what rock he is in and I soooo have to study for First aid...Grrrrr on the crab!
How could It take so long to see him? He is so big!
There are so many nose prints on the glass and a dead flashlight...

I am going to try the shrimp in a bottle till after my course....
If that doesn't work then....

Does any one have a harpoon I could borrow in BC ???

Or any advice would always be appreciated!

 

I had the same crab in one of my tanks once. At the time that I first seen him I had not added anything to the tank in 3-4 months. I could not understand how he could go unseen for so long. After seeing him that first time I would see him nearly everyday. I finally seen him out in the open one night after the lights were out and was able to sneak attack him and scoop him out. Good luck.

 

I had a crab like that and he ate my baby hippo tang. Yours has probably been in your tank since he was born. Same with me as when I saw him I hadn't added any rock in a long time. When I moved up from that tank I caught him and brought him to Big Al's Aquarium Supercenter and the guy told me he was a stone crab. They are bad news, good luck getting him out...

 

The common Xanthidae species found in/on live rocks do need to be removed as over time they can become quite destructive, but the commensal coral crabs usualy found with branching stony corals are a benefit and should be kept with the coral.

Commensal Coral Crabs

Chuck

 

Yep

I had a customer and his young son who enjoyed reefkeeping as customers. One day, the young man (age 13) said, "Curt, how come when fish die they break in half and then when you're going to get a net to remove it, they disappear?" I was like WHAT???? He said, "Yeah, whenever our fish die, they are cut in half and then they disappear". I said, "How far away do you live". Luckily it was only about 2 miles so I closed the store for a half hour and drove over there. This guy was HUUUUUUUGE!!!!! It took them a couple days to catch him and I kept him as a store pet for a while but I certainly wasn't putting him with any fish.

 

Ha.. the saga continues...
It was driving me nuts knowing he was in there so I blew off studying and ripped my tank apart...
I mean - Priorities Right?
I took ever piece of rock out - used a flashlight and brought it out side in full sun and poked in holes and nothing! 4 Hours for 5 pieces of rock ...
I couldn't even get a little notion of the bigger guy...
I did catch the little one... Like what is with that ??? The big one has more fear I guess...
The big one is still in my newly designed tank! Hehehe...
When the lights went out - I got my fully recharged flash light and There he is!
So I have 2 traps in there right now... A towel wrapped around my tank and ALL lights out...
Hopefully I am able to post
a I GOT HIM!!!
Here is 2 pics of the little one... I put a thumb tack in to show his size...
What do you do with them when you get them?
I don't really have a sump like most of you...

 

WoW.. my guy is not that big... lol

 

how did you get all those pesty crabs in there?

 

I am the lucky one of the forum - ???
LoL

 

My friend Rich's stone crab Brutus