feeding an emerald crab + snails
- Thread starter jjlove
- Start date
Rae C.
New member
All of these are part of the clean up crew. The beauty of them is that they eat all the algae and waste int he tank. If you are truly "no fish" and you have a pristine tank, you'll need to supply the algae. But I'd find it amazing if there were no food source already populating your tank.
speddlysmitt
New member
Mine sifts through the sand and eats things found in the live rock.
The excerpt below talks about it's eating patterns.
The Emerald Mithrax Crab is well respected for its scavenging ability. It will enthusiastically feed on uneaten meaty foods and many types of nuisance algae. Unlike many other animals, Mithrax sculptus will eat bubble algae and helps clean your aquarium of these algae. Its distinct, flat shiny green body and hairy legs easily identify the Emerald Mithrax Crab.
Native to the reefs of the Caribbean, the Emerald Mithrax Crab is nocturnal and hides in caves and amongst rubble during the day. In the home aquarium, this member of the Majidae family requires a well-established aquarium with plenty of rockwork and hiding places. Once familiar with its surroundings, the Emerald Mithrax Crab will venture out of hiding during the day to forage on algae.
Care needs to be taken to ensure an ample supply of food is available for the Emerald Mithrax Crab. Many aquarists supplement the Emerald Mithrax Crab's diet with dried seaweed and chopped meaty foods, such as shrimp, as well as a quality pellet fish food.
Otherwise, this opportunistic feeder may turn to corals, invertebrates, or small fish for a food source. However, when well fed, most Emerald Mithrax Crabs are very tolerant of their tankmates and highly compatible in reef environments.
The excerpt below talks about it's eating patterns.
The Emerald Mithrax Crab is well respected for its scavenging ability. It will enthusiastically feed on uneaten meaty foods and many types of nuisance algae. Unlike many other animals, Mithrax sculptus will eat bubble algae and helps clean your aquarium of these algae. Its distinct, flat shiny green body and hairy legs easily identify the Emerald Mithrax Crab.
Native to the reefs of the Caribbean, the Emerald Mithrax Crab is nocturnal and hides in caves and amongst rubble during the day. In the home aquarium, this member of the Majidae family requires a well-established aquarium with plenty of rockwork and hiding places. Once familiar with its surroundings, the Emerald Mithrax Crab will venture out of hiding during the day to forage on algae.
Care needs to be taken to ensure an ample supply of food is available for the Emerald Mithrax Crab. Many aquarists supplement the Emerald Mithrax Crab's diet with dried seaweed and chopped meaty foods, such as shrimp, as well as a quality pellet fish food.
Otherwise, this opportunistic feeder may turn to corals, invertebrates, or small fish for a food source. However, when well fed, most Emerald Mithrax Crabs are very tolerant of their tankmates and highly compatible in reef environments.
Rae C.
New member
I do have to let you know about my emerald crab. A beauty. Big, green, furry legs, molted every month and got bigger and bigger. Then I bought a large clean-up crew of four types of snails, 100 snails total. I acclimated them, I released them, I watched my emerald crab snack on them. There was nothing I could do to save the snails. Probably half escaped. But that crab took every opportunity to sneak up on snails approaching the sand and eat them. It had gotten tired of the algae diet, and went for the meat. Keep that puppy well fed!
speddlysmitt
New member
Sounds like the wrasse a LFS sold me. Ate all 6 of he snails that I bought with him. Needless to say the LFS took him back since I love crabs and shrimp.
Do you have any pics? Mine is still really small.
Do you have any pics? Mine is still really small.
singold
New member
I occasionally supplement my Emerald crab some Dried Seaweed, it goes crazy over it and grabs at it feverishly when spot feeding. You can buy some at LFS, comes in plastic container with small sheets. I do agree with above comment, it could probably sustain by eating algae off LR, etc. I feel the need to supplement because I have a Yellow Tang & Lawnmower Blenny along with my CUC that are eating algae already. Plus, I like to see and have kids watch the Emerald Crab go after the piece of dried seaweed I feed it. I supplement it this way about once every 2 weeks with a piece that is about the size of a quarter. Personally, I have never seen my Emerald crab go after a snail or eat one. Maybe because it's getting enough to eat from the supplementation I am introducing to it via the dried seaweed.
