do any of these critters eat zoas?

[dcortes19]

I've had an emerald crab each a whole colony of yellow zoas it was too late to save them before i figured out who it was. Really hit or miss on them, personally, i dont think i will ever have another one in my tank!

 

[cornychick]

Mucho, I have an emerald crab in each of my tanks and they haven't bothered my corals yet. If they do begin to bother my corals how do you suggest getting them out?

I am in need of a method as well. My precious frags are under attack and I just know it's my EC doing it...

 

[Nanook]

I always have 6 or more Emeralds in my tanks with decent zoa colonies and they are huge. I've never seen them picking at them or eating them.

 

[SushiGirl]

see, that was my thought on all these critters--- they are opportunistic. If fed well, they are less likely to go looking for other things to eat. In our tanks we try to find that balance between feeding well and feeding the algae.

Very true. Any shrimp or crab will eat coral if they're not getting enough to eat. I'm always amazed how many people think they don't have to feed them then freak out when they start eating corals and snails.

Mucho is correct in that emeralds start out their lives as herbivores and become omnivores as they mature. I keep mine well-fed, especially since there's not enough algae for them to pick.

 

[mallorieGgator]

It's a debate that will rage on forever probably, but I can honestly say that I would never trust them in a tank full of zoanthids. I have seen, witnessed and heard numerous accounts of their destruction. I spent an entire weekend years ago catching everyone of them in my tank once I witnessed it for myself their attacks. They are however voracious scavengers who will consume bubble algae and some nuisance algae. Some believe they are getting a bad rep because they are just consuming algae around the polyps and it appears they are eating zoas. Not true, they will eat zoa polyps when the urge arrives. The truth is that they are indeed unpredictable and with the escalating rise in cost to purchase a bunch of new zoanthid, I would never risk losing that kind of an investment to an unpredictable invert who will sooner or later get the munchies for your zoanthids.

Every EC that I have witnessed consuming zoanthids had a shell the size of a quarter or larger. I believe that once these scavengers reach maturity with a shell the size of a quarter, they are no longer the innocent little herbivores we believed they were. Below are but a few links of past discussions with real life accounts of the havoc an EC can reek.

Mucho Reef


http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=691180&highlight=emerald+crabs

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=691180&highlight=emerald+crabs

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=239215&highlight=emerald+crabs

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=958171&highlight=emerald+crabs

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=230350&highlight=emerald+crabs

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=881185&highlight=emerald+crabs

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=961385&highlight=emerald+crabs

Agreed about the emeralds. I had red ones that were great and then they got large and started eating my zoas. They also destroyed a chalice, skeleton as well as tissue. I even fed them algae so it's not like they were starving. I also fed them krill so they weren't lacking in that department either. Nasty little things that need to stay in the wild.

 

[Nanook]

I have six in my tank that are a few years old and silver dollar sized bodies, with a 3-4" wingspan. My tank is loaded with zoanthid colonies So, like everything else in the hobby, this isn't a black and white issue.

 

[MUCHO REEF]

Mucho, I have an emerald crab in each of my tanks and they haven't bothered my corals yet. If they do begin to bother my corals how do you suggest getting them out?

Here you go Jarred. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1230969&highlight=emerald+crab+zoanthid

Or, you can do as I did, I just took my time and cornered them one by one, good luck my friend.

Here's another great thread. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1377324&highlight=emerald+crab+zoanthid


Mucho

 

[RokleM]

People quickly forget that there are TONS of things that are opportunistic feeders in our systems. Crabs, shrimp, fish, pods, worms, you name it. However, that doesn't mean they WILL be feeding on them.

Personally, never had an issue with emeralds, but I absolutely do not mess around when it's feeding time and have a small army of GEO equipment to do the cleanup. As one of the local 10-20g guys said when he was over here at feeding time... holy *insert expletive*, that would crash my tank!

Peppermints are very much the same, and I've had many an argument about those. Some find it remarkably difficult to understand that a shrimp known to like fleshy tasty aptasia, somehow could also munch on fleshy zoas and LPS.

The good news is, shrimp and crabs are incredibly easy to catch, so IMO it's not worth loosing sleep over if they're combating a specific issue.

 

[MUCHO REEF]

Let us know how it went Jarred. Just keep a close eye on him.

 

[Jarred1]

I am not going to remove them until I see them eat my polyps, they are keeping the tank nice and clean as of right now.

 

[sandworm]

i hate hermit crabs, grrrr. even if the dont eat yor zoas the will climb all over them and keep them closed.

 

[Robb in Austin]

who eats hermit crabs. EEEEEW

 

[Robb in Austin]

Shrimps? Umm!

 

[A. Grandis]

Now, what are we going to use to control bubble algae?

Sailfin Tang is a good choice.
Purple Tang too.

Substitute the hermit crabs for snails and fishes to eat algae.
That's the way to go...

Grandis.

 

[trae]

I read the first page and would like to confirm that three or more peppermint shrimp ( not camel back shrimp) will eat clams and anything else with edible soft tissue. Those small stars that everyone likes so much,, Asterina sp. will devour small polyps as well. I have pics of one eating a taro tree.