My pitho is eating aptasia?

living_tribunal · Dec 21, 2020

Kind of an ironic pic. I recently purchased 7 peppermint shrimp to consume aptasia I’ve been battling for over a year (I have it handled and yes I’ve tried everything you’re about to recommend.

Noticed my pitho crab going to town on something and low and behold, it was a large piece of aptasia while all the peppermint shrimp were eyeing him down. (Kudos to you if you can spot the 4 peppermint shrimp in the picture).

My pitho has quickly become my favorite crab this past year, and this reinforced it.

salt2salt · Dec 22, 2020

shrimp? I can't find the crab or aptasia. T

User1 · Dec 22, 2020

salt2salt said:
shrimp? I can't find the crab or aptasia. T

It is the lighting and photo. Here:

living_tribunal · Dec 22, 2020

salt2salt said:
shrimp? I can't find the crab or aptasia. T

The pitho

vetteguy53081 · Dec 22, 2020

Nice going. Not typical but let it

John Genmel · Dec 22, 2020

Great but bad I would think..when apitsia gone he might snack on those nice looking coral

Roger D · Dec 22, 2020

I've been watching some green star polyps for two months and I've got a bowl shaped dead coral the the rim was covered with aptasia the green star is driving it off unless it can live under the green star.

living_tribunal · Dec 23, 2020

John Genmel said:
Great but bad I would think..when apitsia gone he might snack on those nice looking coral

My pitho has never ever bothered the corals unlike mithrax/hermits.

In fact, they tend to appreciate him as pithos have very long slender arms with smaller, more precise, pensers and will clean up all the detritus between dense head corals like acans and zoas. They also do something unique where they spend most of their time half way under the sand picking at detritus on buried skeleton/rock.

The most invasive thing I’ve ever seen him do was pick up a scoly with one arm and clean underneath it with the other.

Pithos are a must have imo. They also should not be eating aptasia given they are a crab. This has never happened before I don’t think but I’ll take it. The peppermint shrimp are doing the job great otherwise.