Acro crabs and pest control

[ERICinFL]

Just curious to know, what the general concensus is about Acro Crabs and pest control. I just bought 8 ORA frags and my Marshall Island Tri-Color had an Acro crab with it. Do you all think they help control AEFWs and Red Bugs? I read a small blurb from another site a few months back (can't remember where) that mentioned a guy who ended up getting both pests in his system. After adding an Acro crab, he said they were gone within a few weeks. What do you all think?

 

[fishieness]

i hope so because in my 3 colonies of acros, i have 3-4 of them!!! and one is holding eggs! i have never heard it, but it would make sense. maybe not with AEFW, but i would think at least with red bugs

 

[Kinetic]

I have an acro crab that's growing big on a small acro colony. He always sits in the same place, which kind of damages the tissue of the SPS, but it's still growing strong and has good pe. Recently I noticed a huge outbreak of those red/brown flatworms. I'm not sure if they eat SPS, but they were on some of my montipora and other acros. My other acros have died, but the one with the acro crab is still free of any pests and still growing strong!

these critters are awesome. I try to feed him a flake or two sometime, though he usually hides and tries to get away from anything.

 

[Cubman777]

This is very interesting. The healthiest looking acro that I have, a rose milli, has a tiny acro crab living in the middle of it that I dont think I could get out without destroying the coral.

 

[ezcompany]

anyone have any acro crabs for sale?

 

[ERICinFL]

I'm sure there has to be some sort of symbiotic relationship between the two, that's why I asked. I'm hoping someone will happen by this thread and know the answer.

 

[Kinetic]

i know acro crabs live in acros for shelter. They also tend to keep it free of algae and such sinc ethat's what they eat. I doubt acro's require a crab to survive, and I've heard that they're not effective against certain pests like AEFW.

 

[rigleautomotive]

i have them in most of my table acros which have been bug free forever.they do wipe out the tissue where they hang out but i do believe they control pests.the coral seems to be none the worse despite the damage at the crabs home.

 

[Kinetic]

yes, I noticed a continuous scarring of the tissue where the crab hangs out, but the acro doesn't seem like it's affected otherwise in terms of the rest of the colony. these crabs are so small anyway.

I find them a lot at a local LFS... maybe they don't dip?

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

I have red bugs, and acro crabs in 2 colonies. One of my colonies with a crab doesnt have bugs, but I do have a colony with an acro crab which has red bugs . I also have colonies without crabs and without bugs.

I seems the bugs just prefer certian acros. In my experience, the crabs will not keep the acro bug-free.

 

[JJohn]

My tank has RB's. I have four colonies with acro-crabs. A colony without a crab is my worst afflicted. One other coral has only a few RB's on it and has a crab. Two other colonies have no crab and no RB's. Finally, three others have no RB's and have acro-crabs. It seems that RB's have favorite hosts.

From my limited data set, it appears that this species of acro-crab may (not at all proven) help keep populations down but does not exterminate them on its host. All my crabs are the "Masked" or "Bandit" acro-crabs. We need more data.

John

 

[Kinetic]

very interesting! maybe we can put together a qt tank and observe in some controlled manner how they behave and what they eat. Maybe even by introducing a few pests to see if they do anything to them.

 

[ERICinFL]

I'd also like to know how many types of Acro crabs there are. Mine appear to be the masked type as well. I'm sure there are quite a few different kinds out there and it would be interesting to know which, if any of them, have RBs and AEFWs as part of their diet. There a a bunch of variables to consider also. Are certain Acros more susceptible to the pests based on what region of the world they are from? Are the pests localized to certain regions or are they found all over the world? If an Acro crab from one region, hosts an Acro from another region, will it consume a pest (if they do indeed eat them) from the "foreign" Acro? I think some comprehensive research on this would be pretty fascinating.

 

[rigleautomotive]

another interesting thing is how long they live.i have had colonies with a crab in it for 8 years ,maybe longer.they seem to be long lived