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- Apr 25, 2019
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Hi everyone, unfortunately my 2 new emerald crabs have taken a liking to munching on my corals....
It's been 4 days since I've added them to the tank. One of them has both claws, and the other one (I call him captain hook lol) has just one. Cpt Hook has been munching on quite a bit of coral (pretty much half the time I see him), while the other I have spotted munching on coral I'm not as worried about. The crabs are both fairly small (carapace about 1 inch wide on both).
Some more details; corals that they are munching on are sps birdsnest, acan lords, and a war coral. The coral looking the worst for wear out of the 3 is the acan lord, I can see those white 'guts' stuff sticking out of the head, its only been a couple hours since the latest coral feast for Cpt Hook so maybe that is a factor... In all honesty the birdsnest and war coral look completely fine even though I saw Cpt hook going for polyps, so my theory is that the acan lord is a lot more meaty and easier to grab a hold of to eat which is why the crab is doing more damage to it.
1) So, first question: Have you had emeralds eating corals, and did your corals recover faster than they could eat it?
2) If yes to (1), did you remove the emerald, and if not, how did your corals do?
3) How do you catch an emerald? I do have a fairly small tank but removing the rock would prove quite tricky
Thanks and stay safe everyone!
extra question I just thought of, I've heard some anecdotal evidence on if the crab will be 'reef safe' or not depending on claw tip shape. The rounded claws indicate a crab more likely to go for algae, vs. sharp claws indicate a crab more likely to go for meaty foods (i.e. corals, fish, etc). Thoughts? I have previously had emerald crabs as well but never noticed them eating corals, I'm going to check the claws now.... previous 'good' emeralds were purchased from a different store as well, they may be getting them from different places who knows.
It's been 4 days since I've added them to the tank. One of them has both claws, and the other one (I call him captain hook lol) has just one. Cpt Hook has been munching on quite a bit of coral (pretty much half the time I see him), while the other I have spotted munching on coral I'm not as worried about. The crabs are both fairly small (carapace about 1 inch wide on both).
Some more details; corals that they are munching on are sps birdsnest, acan lords, and a war coral. The coral looking the worst for wear out of the 3 is the acan lord, I can see those white 'guts' stuff sticking out of the head, its only been a couple hours since the latest coral feast for Cpt Hook so maybe that is a factor... In all honesty the birdsnest and war coral look completely fine even though I saw Cpt hook going for polyps, so my theory is that the acan lord is a lot more meaty and easier to grab a hold of to eat which is why the crab is doing more damage to it.
1) So, first question: Have you had emeralds eating corals, and did your corals recover faster than they could eat it?
2) If yes to (1), did you remove the emerald, and if not, how did your corals do?
3) How do you catch an emerald? I do have a fairly small tank but removing the rock would prove quite tricky
Thanks and stay safe everyone!
extra question I just thought of, I've heard some anecdotal evidence on if the crab will be 'reef safe' or not depending on claw tip shape. The rounded claws indicate a crab more likely to go for algae, vs. sharp claws indicate a crab more likely to go for meaty foods (i.e. corals, fish, etc). Thoughts? I have previously had emerald crabs as well but never noticed them eating corals, I'm going to check the claws now.... previous 'good' emeralds were purchased from a different store as well, they may be getting them from different places who knows.