Hairy crab?!

[Reefer79]

So when removing rocks from my tank I came across this guy at the bottom of the bucket. From what I've read, hairy crabs are not reef safe, which could explain the death of a few corals and star fish. Anyone know what type this is? Should I flush it or put in my sump? This guy must have been in my tank over a year now as I've not added any live rock since then and the corals I bought didnt have any type of rock attached for it to hide in, unless really tiny. Urgh!! Toilet heaven? Yes or no

 

[Crabs McJones]

Xanthid Crab
Toss him in the sump :)

 

[mrpizzaface]

I assume you were joking about flushing, right?

 

[Reefer79]

Xanthid Crab
Toss him in the sump :)

How will it get fed if we have a sock and skimmer as well as our media. Doesn't it need a food source?

 

[Crabs McJones]

How will it get fed if we have a sock and skimmer as well as our media. Doesn't it need a food source?

It'll graze on algae and you can toss him a little food every now and then.

 

[Reefer79]

I assume you were joking about flushing, right?

No I wasn't. From what I read they are really bad for a reef tank. Our fish shop doesn't even want it haha. Id consider a crab dinner but don't really like crab lol don't know what else to do with it?!

 

[Reefer79]

It'll graze on algae and you can toss him a little food every now and then.

OK thanks. So he is useful then. That's good to know.

 

[mrpizzaface]

No I wasn't. From what I read they are really bad for a reef tank. Our fish shop doesn't even want it haha. Id consider a crab dinner but don't really like crab lol don't know what else to do with it?!

You should never flush any live aquatic animal.
1. It could lead to a long painful death for the animal.
2. It could intrude a non native species into your local environment.

If you need to get rid of it and can find no takes, you need to kill the animal in a humane way.
Not sure if clove oils works on crabs but I use it to euthanize fish when necessary.

 

[Reefer79]

You should never flush any live aquatic animal.
1. It could lead to a long painful death for the animal.
2. It could intrude a non native species into your local environment.

If you need to get rid of it and can find no takes, you need to kill the animal in a humane way.
Not sure if clove oils works on crabs but I use it to euthanize fish when necessary.

I've flushed dead fish. Learn something new everyday. I assumed the freshwater would be an instant death? I'm going to put him into the sump. As long as he's useful, I'll keep him. Just not in my main tank. Oil sounds worse to me

 

[Jake_the_reefer]

I've flushed dead fish. Learn something new everyday. I assumed the freshwater would be an instant death? I'm going to put him into the sump. As long as he's useful, I'll keep him. Just not in my main tank. Oil sounds worse to me

The clove oil isnt a bad death imo its humane. Some people use it as an anesthetic which puts the fish to sleep and they wake up with no bad side effects. In euthanasia you put them to sleep with a small dose then use a stronger dose which stops their breathing and it's a quick death. I used this method on a 8 year old blind and horribly beaten up angelfish

 

[Reefer79]

The clove oil isnt a bad death imo its humane. Some people use it as an anesthetic which puts the fish to sleep and they wake up with no bad side effects. In euthanasia you put them to sleep with a small dose then use a stronger dose which stops their breathing and it's a quick death. I used this method on a 8 year old blind and horribly beaten up angelfish

that's good to know. I've not lost any fish in a very very long time, apart from a starfish that one day looked eaten, can only assume from this little guy. I'll definitely Google this for any future issues. Thank you ☺