Emerald Crab vs. Toadstool, how to separate?

[chrisstie]

Okay I'm in a bit of a pinch. I have a 12g aquapod and no sump\fuge since its basically RR.

I have a toadstool that was fine until recently it looked like something had been nibbling on it. Finally I have discovered its my emerald crab. I don't have another tank to put him in (trying to catch him is hard enough atm) .. he's my husbands favorite so i don't want to return him to the store..

Is there anything I can do to separate them safely?

[Randall_James]

Is the toadstool in distress? A crab picking on a healthy specimen seems sort of strange. You might just try relocating the thing a couple times and see if that does not help

[chrisstie]

I think the problem originated in me relocating it to begin with. I had read they really enjoy lots of flow and light (not like ahhhh i cant stand up straight flow.. but moderate healthy flow) .. and since Im only using PC and it was kept under MH at the store i thought hey ill bump it up a little and put it in flow.. it .. deflated.. and then i noticed its edge was looking light and it was somewhat paler ..

Now i've moved it back where it was since it seemed more happy there and had polyp extension.. Its plumped up and gained color back (you can now see where the polyps would extend from instead of some tiny tight skin) .. but the crab was there tonight sitting on it with his claws right near the chewed on spot..

The coral is definitely looking better.. just seems to.. have a crab still wanting it.

My LFS (ina nother post on another board) just said to try giving the crab some scallop to keep him fat and happy (my tank is maturing and algae is going down.. and my fish usually eat everything i give so i dont overfeed.. he may just be getting hungry)..

[Randall_James]

I would think that the crab is not hurting the coral.

[chrisstie]

I have a very peaceful tank otherwise :( I've even asked at my LFS what could be going on.. When I had moved it the first time to where it wasn't happy it was very close to my Blenny's perching area and I think he was disturbing it. I wasn't getting any polyp extension for a while (which I know is normal but the color and inflation of the whole thing wasn't looking healthy)

Now that i've moved it back I see the crab hugging it.. makes me concerned. I will try to get a pic of it later so you can see what i mean- its like someone shaved off a part of the side where i think it looks eaten.. very white and not happy looking.

The crab also likes to hug the little outgroup of zoos I glued onto my rock.. maybe he's just perching but at least the toadstool is perking up since i moved it. I just dont' want it to be picked on..

And yes all of my parameters are where they should be, temp is fine, etc i've checked all of that very very thouroughly so.. i'm a little stmped.

Just want to have it make a good recovery without being troubled.

[Randall_James]

it might be a good idea to just cut off the affected area into good tissue. Using a good sharp pair of scissors works pretty good on them as they shrink up really fast as soon as you disturb them.

I have a yellow that has propagated at least a hundred new animals and it just keeps growing like mad.

[chrisstie]

I"m afraid to do that since the little guy seems so stressed already- will leaving the small amount of bad\dead tissue be an issue there? I do have a really really sharp exacto knife and this one is still only a little frag yet really