Emerald crab eating Caulerpa

[Tripspike]

I noticed an emerald crab apparently eating the caulerpa in my tank. He is a little obscured so I could not tell if he was just pushing out of the way to get at the algae on the live rock or if he is actually eating it.

Anyone have any experience with this.

Trip

 

[dcombs44]

To my knowledge, emerald crabs are omnivores, therefore they will eat algae. I'm assuming that they will eat both macro and micro algaes. I've always kept my caulerpa in my sump, so I wouldn't know from experience, but I'm assuming that it'd be a great snack for an emerald.

 

[bureau13]

I wish mine would develop a taste for that devil weed! I keep tweezing it out and it keeps growing back.

jds

 

[coralnut99]

They are certainly omnivores with microalgaes being their primary interests. I doubt he's consuming the caulerpa. Be aware that there are sevral speciies if Mithrax, and they don't all share the same basic characteristics.

bureau13, you certainly have a tank big enough to house a red sea or hawaiian sailfin tang. I've had problems over the years keeping macros out of my prop system. I finally got to the point where I would just take the infested pieces and put it in one of the tanks with a sailfin, and it was picked clean overnight. I just up-sized my prop tanks and have a sailfin in each. Macros now stay in the refugiums and become tang treats. New corals like zoanthids that may carry macros get an instant scrubbing. My favorite fish by far.

 

[unclereefer]

LMAO! "Devil Weed" I hear you brother!

 

[smokinprice]

My emeralds eat both macro and micro if it helps any

 

[lvreefer]

Whenever chato makes it to my display tank, my emeralds eat. Bastards steel food from my corals too. Time to go crab'n

 

[lvreefer]

doh!

 

[bureau13]

It would certainly help (me) if they were in MY tank!

jds

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8051033#post8051033 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by smokinprice
My emeralds eat both macro and micro if it helps any

 

[Tripspike]

It's official. That one crab hung out under a rock where I had the plant anchored. He ate it and chopped it off at the anchor point. I found it floating in my tank.

Interesting. Are these crabs not a good thing to have with corals?

Trip

 

[bureau13]

I've got a few smaller ones...they've never bothered anything, including the bubble algae they are rumored to eat.

jds

 

[Tripspike]

I have two right now about the size of a quarter. My caulerpa seems to be slowing disappearing. I ordered a fuge recently so I should have that set up in a couple weeks. I think the crabs might make short work out of the caulerpa.

Trip

 

[reefD]

they can be bothersome to corals. yes its true! but a charecteristic that isnt for all. in otherwords some are destructive some are not. i have none in my reef tanks. i stay away from them for any tanks that have inverts /corals