Crabs got my clam/ question

[KnoxvilleIa]

A week ago my wife got me a nice little teal colered clam.
this mourning I looked in and saw the clean up crabs finishing the last pieces of meat off.

There is one crab in the tank, it's body style is like a sally lightfoot
crab but it is all a dull white, it has black pinsers and they look very sharp.
This is a hitchhiker, I have seen just it's claw for months behind a rock. and only once have I seen it out.

Any one else have the crabs get their clams ?
The crab that was finishing hin off was a Marshall Island Electric Blue Hermit

 

[jmaneyapanda]

Its hard to say exactly what type of crab you have. Can you get a picture? The clique rule of thumb is that hairy crabs are bad. That does not necessarily mean that smooth ones are good, though. It almost sounds like you are describing an acro crab, which should be harmless. Ordinary harmless clean up crew are often blamed for killing clams and corals when in reality they are just doing their job, and cleaning up and already dead or dying organism. Sorry I couldnt help more.

 

[KnoxvilleIa]

Crab

Crab

I will try to get a picture in the night,
The clam was in not sick, was in perfect shape
untill this mourning, in fact was still alive when the cleaners were working on him. the area where he took in water and expelled it had been eaten away.
and most of the mantle.

 

[Peabody]

Unfortunately, most clams looks great right until they die, and don't show signsof dying. My bet is that the crabs were just helping themselves to a dead clam, as that's usually the case...sorry
Do you have other clams? Or isthis the first one?

 

[KnoxvilleIa]

Clam

Clam

First one,
I have 3 tanks 125 that has been running for 8 months,
fair amount of soft corals, 4 x 96 PC's ( clam was in there
I had it only 5 days or so.
75 with puffers.
125 just going up 3 x 250 halide.
I guess you could be right, hard to tell now.
would someone who's in the know with clams pm me with their phone number....