Gorilla crab vs Purple firefish

Tired

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Ah, nice! He looks something like my Pilumnus sayiis, Spine-backed Hairy Crab. Big, fast, strong suckers, very cool for a Sin Bin. He may eat your hermit. He'll definitely eat snails. Might leave stony corals alone, if he's the same species? Mine hasn't touched the small hitchhiker stony corals in with him.

Teach him to take food from tongs, then you can impress visitors with him when he gets big.
 
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jabberwock

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I wanted to add, that for a procedure like this, I used a smaller bin lid as a work space, thought out thoroughly what I needed, thought about stuff I might need, and had it all available and laid out within easy reach like a surgical procedure. Had the ATO turned off as the rock volume would lower the water level. All this to minimize the amount of time the rock and corals were out of the tank.
 
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jabberwock

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Ah, nice! He looks something like my Pilumnus sayiis, Spine-backed Hairy Crab. Big, fast, strong suckers, very cool for a Sin Bin. He may eat your hermit. He'll definitely eat snails. Might leave stony corals alone, if he's the same species? Mine hasn't touched the small hitchhiker stony corals in with him.

Teach him to take food from tongs, then you can impress visitors with him when he gets big.
Thanks, not sure how much time I will spend on him. I attribute him to the death of 2 neon blue cleaners gobies and my purple firefish...

He's lucky he did not see the heel of my boot.
 

Uncle99

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Thanks, not sure how much time I will spend on him. I attribute him to the death of 2 neon blue cleaners gobies and my purple firefish...

He's lucky he did not see the heel of my boot.
Keep up the great work.
It took me a year, but I got every single one.
Used a wood skewer and elastic to spear two!
One I got with a fork! Obliterated him.
 

JoJosReef

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Yeah, they were hiding under the same rock, so crouching firefish hidden gorilla crab in a confined space does not seem like a good thing. The only crabs I have are hitching porcelain crabs which are filter feeders. I was a little nervous that they were planning an uprising this day. But, they disbanded and have remained peaceful.
IMG_6084.jpg
Biding their time, more like it.
 

JoJosReef

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They are filter feeders, although I have seen them pick up a stray pellet.
I know, it was a joke. I love porcelains and nem crabs. I target feed them TDO pellets and they now start running to the edge of the rocks when the pumps go off and they see me with the feeding pipette.
 

LiverockRocks

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Yeah, they were hiding under the same rock, so crouching firefish hidden gorilla crab in a confined space does not seem like a good thing. The only crabs I have are hitching porcelain crabs which are filter feeders. I was a little nervous that they were planning an uprising this day. But, they disbanded and have remained peaceful.
IMG_6084.jpg
Beautiful porcelains!!!! Well done.
 

Katrina71

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Trap was out for one night with no joy.
image0 (33).jpeg



This little crab was standing between me and my tank goals. I chose not to move forward before he was sorted out. So, I sorted it out. I blew the hammer and duncan gently with the turkey baster to get them closed before I yanked the rock. Just one rock the size of a football. I knew this was his lair, so i was confident. When I yanked the rock and flipped it over, a big porcelain crab dropped off. I scooped it up and got some tank water on it and set it to the side. Then, with the rock upside down, I saw the labyrinth. There was a hole deep in the center of the rock. I could see a leg. I used my long tweezers to start rooting around in the hole. I wanted to scare it out, or stab it properly...

It bailed out the back door, and I was victorious! Total width was about 1 inch.

image1 (25).jpeg



I chucked it in the sin bin which is also know as my macro algae grow out tank. He shares this tank with a single hermit crab.

IMG_6436.jpg



Here is the rock after I put it back in the tank.

IMG_6435.jpg
The Sin Bin cracked me up! Congrats on your capture!
 

vetteguy53081

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Is it feasible that if a gorilla crab about the size of a nickel and a 3 inch purple firefish both hid under the same rock, that the crab could kill the fish?
You dont want that crab in your system regardless of size . A member of the undesired crab group Xanthidae are often responsible for mysterious fish and coral loss and coral tissue destruction
 

Tired

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FishBites says their products should be fine to use in aquaria for bait. It is designed for use in the wild, so they have to make it with a benign formula.
I'd still be a bit skeptical, honestly. They design it to be safe for ponds, rivers, and the ocean, not tiny little containers of water.

Biding their time, more like it.
Fortunately, these guys have weak claws that are mostly for show, so they're gonna have to bide forever.
 

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