Bta

[stefdvm]

I bought a BTA yesterday from a LFS - manager is a friend / coworker of mine - it was firmly attached to a rock, so she threw in the rock. Issue is... the rock houses a teddy bear crab that has been in that tank for the last year; they can't sell it because it apparently never comes out of the rock. Now, I have seen that the crab isn't reef safe, which means something has to be done. He's uber cute. Right now, the whole set up - rock / nem / crab is in the QT. The crab came most of the way out of his "cave" last night to have a look around then retreated back inside. Overnight, the nem, who apparently didn't like the flow where I'd placed the rock, moved herself across it and is now firmly covering the crab's front door - her foot is wedged into the hole; I gently lifted the rock this morning and found the crab pouting at the back door. My "plan" is to create a cave for him in another rock (drill, chisel, whatever) and try to lure him out of the existing rock - I really don't want to try to pry the nem off the rock because I don't want to damage her. When I move everyone to the new tank, and take the nem out of the QT, I will turn the little 10 gallon deal into a crabby home. I planned on putting his rock (hopefully the new one) and sand in there for him. All that to ask this question - is there anything that I can put in the tank with him? Not that he necessarily needs a "friend" but I feel bad having him in there alone... he's just too dang cute to spear IMHO

https://www.flickr.com/photos/136539937@N03/shares/d3G9rE

 

[Fiver]

Cute crab.

I'm a first-time, month-old reefer who ended up setting a whole tank for all of the "bad" crabs and pistol shrimps I found in my Florida live rock. What a sucker! I've found that the crabs will try to stay away from each other but that some/many will kill and eat the others, and that the pistol shrimps (they are cool, but not the same type as the ones that pair with gobies) like to chase and kill the smaller crabs.

I actually kept the two largest crabs (one looks a lot like yours, the other appears to be a red mithrax crab) in their own separate, small tanks because I don't want them to die in a crab fight.

I guess that's all to say: I really don't know what you can keep with your crab. I suggest macroalgae. LOL.

Good luck.

 

[stefdvm]

Well, if no one comes up with a different suggestion, I will let him live a solitary crab life; he's really cute. And, if I get tired of him, I'll rehome him or return him to the LFS. I really wanted the nem, and I was excited about the little hitchhiker until I started reading about them - I'm not going to risk my fish or future corals on the little buggar; I have an extra tank - he can live there...

 

[Ikserk]

From the pictures, it looks like you could break the rock in half. The anemone on one side, the crab and its home on the other. is that possible? If so,then the nem to your tank and the crab back to the store!

 

[Fiver]

Well, if no one comes up with a different suggestion, I will let him live a solitary crab life; he's really cute. And, if I get tired of him, I'll rehome him or return him to the LFS. I really wanted the nem, and I was excited about the little hitchhiker until I started reading about them - I'm not going to risk my fish or future corals on the little buggar; I have an extra tank - he can live there...

You're crab will probably love being alone. I don't think they care much for company. Mine avoid each other if they can. I'm not sure if I'd even trust snails around these crabs. I had predatory whelks with mine, and the whelks seemed very bothered by the crabs, moving as far and high away as possible from them.

 

[stefdvm]

From the pictures, it looks like you could break the rock in half. The anemone on one side, the crab and its home on the other. is that possible? If so,then the nem to your tank and the crab back to the store!

Not sure I can do that; the nem's foot is in one of the "doors" of the crab's little in-rock cave. The rock as a whole is rather large but they are both on one end of it... I'm going to create a cave in another rock and see if I can convince fuzzy butt to move into it - maybe with some shrimp...