Do Anglerfish eat? hitchhikers?

So... I'm still in front of my tank watching my new angler...and what's that? It's 2" reddish crab - big claws too. I know I have at least one gorilla crab in my tank, but I've never seen this guy before. And then the next day, I find a shed from one crab about the size of a dime.

I seem to have more of these guys than I think in my tank. 27 g cube with about 35lbs of live rock and a decent amount of soft corals. Will the angler eat these guys? Any way to catch them without catching/hurting the angler?

Is it bad to leave them? They could be cleaners... no?

 

Can't ID or even make an assumption of species w/o pics. Can you get some up?

 

most of us would probably be surprised at what we have in our tanks that we haven't seen. a couple of weeks back, i saw a 3" crab and i haven't added any live rock in two years. i usually leave things alone until they prove to be a problem......of course, this philosophy has its drawbacks.

 

My angler tried to eat a rock, so it wouldn't surprise me.

 

stay tuned... i'll try to get a pic... one more question though - Do these guys add a lot of bioload or not really??

 

i would say no since they usually just feed on the leftovers.

 

Yes, they add A TON! You need to feed them large meaty foods like herring or live ghost shrimp. As a big carnivorous fish an efficient skimmer is a must!
Here is a pic of my Lophiocharon lithinostomus

http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l498/BlueStag/IMG_1824.jpg


And an info thread for ya!
http://www.captivereefs.com/forum/fish-finder/marble-mouth-angler-fish-17430/

 

lol. i thought he meant the crab not the fish.

 

Nice angler - cool nostrils and colors on him. Came home the other day - hitchhiker crab count is up to 4 now. They all appear to be red emeralds...