What do you think killed my sally crab

[jden092901]

I have had a sally light foot and found it dead lastnight. I dont have anything that could kill it. My water is good, the only thing I can think of is my nitrates which are at 5. However, all my sps, clam, fish, and other inverts are doing really good. Do you think it was just a food competition issue? It's so weird...

Thanks again,

Josh

[Aquarist007]

Josh, can you give us a list of the specifics:
what fish and inverts to you have in your tank
is this a new purchase
what are your water parameters
this will really help to answer your question

[jden092901]

O..sorry...I have 2 clowns, bicolor blenny, 6-line wrasse, cleaner shrimp, clam, hermets, snails, brittle star, sps,lps coral, ricordea, I dont have anything "mean". The sally should have been the most "mean" thing in my tank. It was about 2 months old... Water...Ammonia is 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5, ph 8.3, cal 440, alk 9, phos 0. Also, I just noticed some green hair alage in my tank, not much at all...but some. Why would this grow and how can i get rid of it? my tank isnt very old, about 4-5 months old.

THanks

Josh

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11443239#post11443239 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jden092901
O..sorry...I have 2 clowns, bicolor blenny, 6-line wrasse, cleaner shrimp, clam, hermets, snails, brittle star, sps,lps coral, ricordea, I dont have anything "mean". The sally should have been the most "mean" thing in my tank. It was about 2 months old... Water...Ammonia is 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5, ph 8.3, cal 440, alk 9, phos 0. Also, I just noticed some green hair alage in my tank, not much at all...but some. Why would this grow and how can i get rid of it? my tank isnt very old, about 4-5 months old.

THanks

Josh

Thanks Josh:
as far as nothing "mean"

hermits and snails etc do not get along--eventually the hermits kill off the snail population

six line wrasse---they will feed on small invertebrates----

and if I had to bet on the destruction of the Sally --this is where I would put my money.

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11443239#post11443239 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jden092901

Why would this grow and how can i get rid of it? my tank isnt very old, about 4-5 months old.

THanks

Josh

the fuel for hair algae is its food--and the way to get rid of it is to stop feeding it.

the top nutrients for hair algae are phospates and nitrates and you do have indication of nitrates.
Your rock could be still curing--sometimes up to six months or more--so it could be releasing phosphates and nitrates still

A more common way phosphates and nitrates are introduced to the tank are by your feeding methods--
feed less at a time but more often if you feel the need
rinse off all frozen foods with r/o water prior to using--they contain phosphates ect from their breeding tanks.

Step up the flow in your tank--it should be 20 to 40 times the tank volume. This will get these phosphates etc up into the water column where they can be filtered off. Also make sure flow is directed everywhere so you don't have any dead flow corners

Once a week take a turkey baster and lightly baste the the sand base and the live rock to again get uneaten food etc back into the water column.

If you have a sump run a filter sock esp when cleaning or basting the the tank.
Make sure the flow through the sump matches the skimmer gph--other wise unskimmed water is returning to the tank.

These are just a few suggestions that you can do on a regular basis to prevent the growth of the algae. If you take the food source away eventually it will die off

[Aquarist007]

..............to remove the nitrates:
step up your water changes--at least every two weeks if not every week for awhile until you get no detectable readings for nitrates
In the long run you might consider
adding a refugium with chaeto algae--great reducers of nitrates and phosphates plus add extra copopods to your main tank for food.
running carbon and phosban in phosban reactors---the picture below illustrates this--cost about 70 dollars for the setup

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r107/reefescapetangster/IMG_4527.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r107/reefescapetangster/IMG_4525.jpg

[Sk8r]

And I would urge against replacing the sally: they are a lot of fun, but when they grow [dinner plate size is their max] they turn fish-eater and are impossible to catch in the rockwork.

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11443682#post11443682 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sk8r
And I would urge against replacing the sally: they are a lot of fun, but when they grow [dinner plate size is their max] they turn fish-eater and are impossible to catch in the rockwork.

thanks sk8r---would you believe I have one put aside for me in the lfs--cancel that one.

:eek2: then there the same store that solid me a "harmless" horseshoe crab" two weeks ago. Luckly I caught last night--put it in with the shrimp dip--everyone enjoyed it last night--except me--I passed:D :lol:

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r107/reefescapetangster/stooges.gif

[Sk8r]

Yep, crabs are iffy. The only crabs you really can sort of almost trust: the micro hermits, the scarlets and extreme micros that never get larger than a cerith shell---well, I had one scarlet that took to wearing a small conch shell. They're much better behaved re snails. But any pointy shell snail that falls over in a tank full of hermits is probably toast.
2) the emerald mithrax crab---useless, ime, but kind of cute. I suspect I have had them nip fish fins, but never could prove it.
3) very specialized and fairly uncommon acropora crabs.
4) as far as I know, some of the little filter-feeder crabs which are rarely offered in the trade. Can't see how they would ever be a problem.

Anything else---crabs ultimately start noshing on ANYTHING. They are nature's little generalists, and if they are large enough to get it in their claws, it's toast. [I still love my micro hermits, Cap'n. Lol! But I know they're thieves and scoundrels, and I *hate* it when they grab stuff from my corals.]

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11443919#post11443919 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sk8r
Yep, crabs are iffy. The only crabs you really can sort of almost trust: the micro hermits, the scarlets and extreme micros that never get larger than a cerith shell---well, I had one scarlet that took to wearing a small conch shell. They're much better behaved re snails. But any pointy shell snail that falls over in a tank full of hermits is probably toast.
2) the emerald mithrax crab---useless, ime, but kind of cute. I suspect I have had them nip fish fins, but never could prove it.
3) very specialized and fairly uncommon acropora crabs.
4) as far as I know, some of the little filter-feeder crabs which are rarely offered in the trade. Can't see how they would ever be a problem.

Anything else---crabs ultimately start noshing on ANYTHING. They are nature's little generalists, and if they are large enough to get it in their claws, it's toast. [I still love my micro hermits, Cap'n. Lol! But I know they're thieves and scoundrels, and I *hate* it when they grab stuff from my corals.]

you forgot the best crab to keep---- the fuge crab :lol: http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r107/reefescapetangster/stooges.gif

[Sk8r]

'At'll do!
The biggest nastiest gorilla crab can have a nice career as The Fuge Crab!

[fatdaddy]

I had a Sally that turned up dead after 6 months in my tank. I think it was just starvation as the tank has cleaned up considerably during that time.

I have another Sally that lived on the other end and I started to feed him occasionally on the same schedule as my anemones. He gratefully accepts a handout.

I didn't know that they turn the size of dinner plates. So far, he's been very well behaved and appears to spend most of his time feeding off the live rocks.

[Bygkid]

My especiaence with crabs has been that when they sense something to eat, they will destroy your rockwork to get at it. It amazed seeing a 1 inch crab lift a rock that probably weighed about 5lbs or more.
Gl
Scott