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View Full Version : To get an emerald crab or not...


JammyBirch
05/31/2015, 05:24 PM
I have some bubble algae and think an emerald would be neat to have. I'm concerned though for the fish and coral. The gramma and cherub angel bot cave at night and would be easy for a crab to nip at them. I also have decent sps corals...

I've read mixed reviews on theses guys what is true and not true?

gone fishin
05/31/2015, 05:29 PM
IME I have not had problems with them, they scour the rockwork.

heathlindner25
05/31/2015, 05:32 PM
Get a couple small females if you're worried about them going rogue,never had a problem out of the girls.

Dkuhlmann
05/31/2015, 05:36 PM
I have one now I'm trying to get rid of. It's eaten two peppermint shrimp and one maybe two small royal gramma's. They were less than an inch. Personally I'll never get another emerald crab. This one is HUGE by the way. When it was small was a model citizen.

heathlindner25
05/31/2015, 05:52 PM
I have one now I'm trying to get rid of. It's eaten two peppermint shrimp and one maybe two small royal gramma's. They were less than an inch. Personally I'll never get another emerald crab. This one is HUGE by the way. When it was small was a model citizen.

Sounds like a male that went rogue..

anthonys51
05/31/2015, 05:59 PM
mine is also Hugh, but he seems to be behaving. was wondering how do you know that he ate your peppermint shrimp. did you see him kill them or was he just eating them. i had 2 shrimps that disappeared too

Dkuhlmann
05/31/2015, 06:12 PM
Sounds like a male that went rogue..

Now to catch the nasty bastich :debi:

Dkuhlmann
05/31/2015, 06:15 PM
mine is also Hugh, but he seems to be behaving. was wondering how do you know that he ate your peppermint shrimp. did you see him kill them or was he just eating them. i had 2 shrimps that disappeared too

I was out of town when it happened but Anne told me that he was chasing the shrimp and they disappeared one by one. He wasn't seen eating them, but with him chasing them and he is the only thing in the tank that could have eaten them without a trace. They were very healthy and had been in the tank for a long time. Now to :fun2:

anthonys51
05/31/2015, 06:21 PM
now makes me wonder if he is the bad guy too. but i never seen my move. he doesn't chase anyone, just basically sits on a rock and eats it all day. only moves when he see me. guess i am ugly though glass. lol only thing to die in my tank in 6 months is 2 peppermint shrimps a sally crab and a Halloween hermit crab, and i cant find my little yellow goby for 3 weeks now. so he is probably a goner. crabs will kill one another right

intyme
05/31/2015, 06:48 PM
I had one in my old tank, very peaceful

Shawn O
05/31/2015, 07:24 PM
Now that should have cleared things up for you, eh, JammyBirch?

heathlindner25, how do you tell the difference between the sexes? Is it as easy as lifting the tail, like on a dog or cat?

JK, I know it's got to be a bit more complicated than that, but how do you tell?

shortcake
05/31/2015, 08:42 PM
I've never had a problem with them, except when the clownfish got too close for comfort

MillerR.
05/31/2015, 08:56 PM
It they are like most crabs, which I believe they are, you flip them over and the males with have a pointed like appendage and the females will be more rounded. Its not really an appendage more like and "outline" but I can't think of a better word at the moment.

joshbrookkate
05/31/2015, 10:03 PM
I have 2. No problems. They are very busy picking at detritus on the rocks.

amber3k
05/31/2015, 11:48 PM
I have two, but one decided to make himself comfortable under a rbta. This meant there were times the rbta was irritated and I have seen the crab pinch it while getting food but didn't hurt it. The crab is in the sump for now.

Dkuhlmann
06/01/2015, 03:40 AM
I have two, but one decided to make himself comfortable under a rbta. This meant there were times the rbta was irritated and I have seen the crab pinch it while getting food but didn't hurt it. The crab is in the sump for now.

My emerald crab wouldn't leave my gbta alone. So how did you catch your crab? Looking for suggestions

heathlindner25
06/01/2015, 04:24 AM
Now that should have cleared things up for you, eh, JammyBirch?

heathlindner25, how do you tell the difference between the sexes? Is it as easy as lifting the tail, like on a dog or cat?

JK, I know it's got to be a bit more complicated than that, but how do you tell?

The carapace on the female is wider with "unbroken"lines..

150Ron
06/01/2015, 06:51 AM
I have four of them and they don't bother a thing. I've had plenty over the years and never had one go bad.

JammyBirch
06/01/2015, 07:23 AM
Now that should have cleared things up for you, eh, JammyBirch?

heathlindner25, how do you tell the difference between the sexes? Is it as easy as lifting the tail, like on a dog or cat?

JK, I know it's got to be a bit more complicated than that, but how do you tell?

Oh man...you aren't kidding...seems like a crap shoot to me...

I'm leaning towards not getting one and letting the BBA work itself out. I think i may have too small of a tank, 25g, which may increase the rogue tendencies of an emerald crab.

Sk8r
06/01/2015, 07:26 AM
In a 25, oh, no. Fish-nipping is a distinct possibility. Hermits only.

JammyBirch
06/01/2015, 07:42 AM
In a 25, oh, no. Fish-nipping is a distinct possibility. Hermits only.

Seals the deal, i figured... Not enough realestate to keep it occupied.

amber3k
06/01/2015, 08:47 AM
My emerald crab wouldn't leave my gbta alone. So how did you catch your crab? Looking for suggestions

I ended up staying up late watching the tank. He loved algae pellets so I used a grabber thing (I have a deep tank cant reach the bottom otherwise) to hold the pellet and lure it to a small rock, let him have the pellet and grabbed the rock and shook gently over a cup inside the tank. There are other ways but thats what worked for me.

serbusfish
06/01/2015, 09:21 AM
I have one in my 75, at first I thought he was nipping my Clownfish + corals but I think I was mistaken. He has so far been good with algae that other critters wont touch. I had some dark green wiry algae growing along the rocks, he eat all that. I currently have some short red hair algae which he is also eating, not as fast as the other stuff, but slowly it is disappearing. Annoyingly however so far he hasnt touched any of the red bubble algae, which is what I thought they were renowned for eating.

That's just my (limited) experience, who knows he might turn into a terror later on, but for now he is doing a decent job IMO.

Dkuhlmann
06/01/2015, 07:34 PM
Well I caught that ****er :dance:

One strong SOB I caught it with my hand while it was on a piece of lr and under/behind one of my monti's. I grabbed it with my hand and it dug into the lr with it's legs the fight was on :hammer: My monti didn't fare so well :(

I was doing my best not to crush it with my fingers but I can honestly say that it's a lot tougher than I am LOL

Not sure if I killed it or broke any part of it but it's now in my sump. :deadhorse1: I'm glad that is over :bounce3: :dance: