Will I regret an emerald crab

Discussion in 'Inverts' started by theoak, Sep 14, 2011.

to remove this notice and enjoy 3reef content with less ads. 3reef membership is free.

  1. theoak

    theoak Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2011
    Messages:
    77
    My LFS have got an emerald crab in and wondered if it would be a good addition to my 20g nano? Any thoughts?!
     
  2. Click Here!

  3. loneracer05

    loneracer05 Clown Trigger

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2009
    Messages:
    2,019
    Location:
    long island ny
    If its small and you don't mind taking it out when it gets bigger.when they get bigger they may start to look for food other then algae and if you don't have any left over food from feeding laying around a sleeping fish may fit the bill...
     
  4. theoak

    theoak Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2011
    Messages:
    77
    Yeah, and they are not easy to catch!
     
  5. khowst

    khowst Bangghai Cardinal

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2011
    Messages:
    1,390
    Location:
    FLW, Mo
    I have had 2 for about 6 months now and have yet to have a problem. GRanted mine are in a 75g so I got a little more space.
     
  6. 2in10

    2in10 Super Moderator

    Joined:
    Aug 6, 2009
    Messages:
    19,258
    Location:
    Sparks, NV
    You should have little problems with it until it gets quite large if at all.
     
  7. AZDesertRat

    AZDesertRat Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Jul 30, 2009
    Messages:
    3,904
    Location:
    Phoenix AZ
    If you have bubble algae they are great, otherwise I wouldn't bother.
     
  8. Click Here!

  9. M-Ocean Man

    M-Ocean Man Flame Angel

    Joined:
    May 4, 2010
    Messages:
    1,545
    Location:
    Dirty Jerz

    +1 to this - I also found that they would eat grape caulerpa in my tank!!!
     
  10. Doratus

    Doratus Teardrop Maxima Clam

    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2010
    Messages:
    807
    Location:
    California
    If you like the way the crab looks and you think it's cool then by all means go for it. But if you could do without the crab obviously your eliminating the chances of it causing any problems if you don't get it.

    I had one in my 40g reef for quite some time and then the other day I found it dead in the sand. My guess is that the crab starved to death, because there is little algae in my tank and I feed very sparingly.
     
  11. m2434

    m2434 Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2011
    Messages:
    3,471
    I had one once. I don't think it harmed anything, but not sure it did anything useful either. I have heard some horror stories though, crabs are definitely opportunists. Most of the time they seem to be okay though. It's really a personal preference, like keeping a dwarf angel, or anything else. If you like them and don't mind the risk (probably small risk), go for it.
     
  12. chumslickjon

    chumslickjon Purple Spiny Lobster

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2010
    Messages:
    461
    Location:
    NJ
    Emeralds ate small fish in my tank. Mainly firefish.