Emerald crabs and Green Star Polyps

[mfh_anderson]

I keep running my two emerald crabs off my green star polyps. Are they trying to eat the polyps or just clean up around them?

Almost half had reopened then had whiteout from refuge first being started, now Ive got about 25% of them open. But are the crabs making them stay in also?

 

[scrmbld33]

my emeralds havent bothered with them, yes they will close if bothered and should reopen soon, mine close up for a few hours when the snails are around them

 

[mfh_anderson]

when they are picking around, should i run them off, or are they just tidying up a bit?

 

[scrmbld33]

i would watch as all crabs cant be trusted, i would think they are tidying up though

 

[acrouse]

Do the green star polyps come out fully when there are no crabs around? (besides the sand storm)

I try and lightly clean my green star polyps once a week with a turkey baster to keep the debris from building up on the mat, which I think helps keep the crabs off of them. It may also help in your case since experiencing the sand storm. Seems like they tend to be a catch all in the tank.
My hermit crabs like to crawl in and out of my green stars, but I have not noticed any damage-so for now I will assume just tidying up in between brush offs.

jolene

 

[mfh_anderson]

I bought them about 2 or 3 days before the sandstorm, they were opening about half way by then, LFS said it could take up to 2 weeks for them to fully reopen. After sandstorm down to 25 % or so, blew them off with baster today and have about 10 polyps open so im down to under 10%.

 

[acrouse]

What type of lighting are they under?
What type of water flow? (heavy, med, light)(direct, indirect flow)

Since the polyps are new I think I would try to keep the emeralds off of them as much as you can as they are still trying to adjust to your tank and the less they are pestered, the better they will acclimate.

Did you observe the polyps fully open at the LFS before you purchased?

jolene

 

[mfh_anderson]

I have a 260W orbit, they are not in direct flow, but i would consider my tank to have heavy flow, 2 powerheads, and return pump from fuge rated at 600gph. they were fully opened at LFS.

 

[Frick-n-Frags]

the crabs won't destroy the GSP. the GSP can stay closed for a long time without harm too. probably poking at the crabs will make them get stupid and really disturb the GSP = unneeded stress all around

What you want to watch for is if the purple mat is getting smaller or seems to be like powdering away. Then it is either not happy, or something is munching it.

A healthy gorg can take an occasional boring worm or getting close shaved by a snail (they can abrade the mat quite a bit I found out) and for sure the common periodic disturbances by the locals

 

[TonyOrlando]

Sorry to jump in your post, but i have a kinda related question. I bought a green star polyp, however the color is pink. Is this a different kind of star polyp? Ive noticed tanks with green star polyps looking very green and my looks alot more pink than green?

 

[TonyOrlando]

bump

 

[DrHank]

Emerald Crabs are a mixed blessing. I bought three to help with algae control (which they do somewhat). They are however opportunistic scavengers. Mine have taken every opportunity to kill and eat my turbo grazers. Two of the three are now in the sump (where they can do no more harm) and hopefully the third will be joining them soon. After that it's off to the LFS so that they can find a new home.

Yours sound like they are just trying to clean up around the GSP. As long as they are not damaging anything in your tank they should be fine. I'd just keep an eye on them to be sure. If you have to remove them later, a short clear glass, with a small shrimp in it, propped against the rock at a 45 degree angle close to where the crab was last seen has caught many overnight. Good luck!

 

[PatMayo]

GSP actually like a pretty strong flow. Mine love the flow I have in my tank. They were on a rock but are now spreading onto my drain tower. They grow very rapidly and spread quickly so watch it.

After getting mine they opened up fully after about 2 days.

Regards,

Pat