first hitchhiker? (pic) (long post)

[Tahlequah]

ok, I have a math problem on my hands... but lets start at the begining before going into that.

Last night I was trying to get my anemone to move to where i could see him (he likes it on the back side of my rock). I was in the process of moving him when I saw that emerald crab was hiding under the rock that I was moving. My anemone was not wanting to cooperate so I was getting a little frustrated. In the middle of the process I had forgotten about the ONE emerald crab that I had bought at the LFS. Well, as I dropped the rock back into place I was sure that I had squished him.

This morning as the lights came on I found out for sure. he was lying on the bottom of the tank up side down. I took him out and threw him in the trash, sorry that it wasnt a proper burial. This evening I noticed something moving under my rock. upon closer inspection I saw a HUGE emerald crab. This one was about 3 inches across. The one that I had bought at the LFS a few months ago was only about 1 inch across.

This tank that it was in is only about a month and a half old. I cured 30lbs of rock in the tank. I moved the cleanup crew, including the emerald crab to the new tank about 3 weeks ago. So, my question is where did this HUGE crab come from? I only bought 1 crab, but now have one alive and one dead. I cant believe I didnt notice it before... here are some pics to show both crabs.


Larger Crab

Smaller Crab (RIP)

 

[Bcollins111900]

They hide really well. Inside rock crevaces and everything. When I moved my 240 i thought my monster emerald died, nope he was inside a rock and re-appeared days later happy as can be.

 

[skippy2]

You sure you didn't throw away a molt and this bigger 1 isn't the new and improved??

 

[Tahlequah]

pretty sure it was still squishy. I have a shrimp that molts on a monthly basis and his shells are hollow not so squishy. plus one inch to three inches is a big difference for one molt.

 

[Nano Chris]

Never seen a 3" emerald crab, i have one about 1 1/2" pretty cool though.

 

[minispider]

emerald crabs are very destructive, and yes....they will eat coral.

 

[crania]

Just found one of those in my tank. I am new (only had a tank for 3 months) to this and was trying to identify it. Thanks for that. So these crabs destructive, hey? What should I do with my live one? Does anyone no someone in Sydney, Australia that may want one?

Thanks Guys

 

[fatdaddy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10183900#post10183900 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by minispider
emerald crabs are very destructive

Now they tell me. I guess I need to create another more aggressive tank.

 

[fatdaddy]

Re: first hitchhiker? (pic) (long post)

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10181932#post10181932 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tahlequah
Last night I was trying to get my anemone to move to where i could see him (he likes it on the back side of my rock).

I wouldn't do that too much. They like to exercise their free-will by moving to a place with perfect water flow, light, etc. You'll definitely stress them by moving them around.

You know what they like, so can you adjust the flow and light to give it a good spot on the front-side of the rocks? You can also shade or direct strong flow at the back side of the rocks until it settles in again to discourage it from that spot.

 

[Tahlequah]

Re: Re: first hitchhiker? (pic) (long post)

Re: Re: first hitchhiker? (pic) (long post)

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10184271#post10184271 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fatdaddy
I wouldn't do that too much. They like to exercise their free-will by moving to a place with perfect water flow, light, etc. You'll definitely stress them by moving them around.

You know what they like, so can you adjust the flow and light to give it a good spot on the front-side of the rocks? You can also shade or direct strong flow at the back side of the rocks until it settles in again to discourage it from that spot.

good idea. I didnt want to move him, but I was worried about him since he moved up under one of my rocks..

 

[fatdaddy]

Re: Re: Re: first hitchhiker? (pic) (long post)

Re: Re: Re: first hitchhiker? (pic) (long post)

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10184761#post10184761 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tahlequah
good idea. I didnt want to move him, but I was worried about him since he moved up under one of my rocks..

What kind of anemone? Bubble tips (BTA) will do that to attach a foot or just to hide. Then they will emerge again. I've seen mine disappear for a week sometimes.

I also have a ritteri that climbed under a rock. It definitely wasn't happy with my water chemistry at that time.

 

[Driftwood]

Emerald crabs are not aggressive. They are algae eaters and will not harm corals...

Dave

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10185664#post10185664 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Driftwood
Emerald crabs are not aggressive. They are algae eaters and will not harm corals...

Dave

Actually, they do. It's pretty uncommon, but they can.

 

[Tahlequah]

The emerald that I had took out 2 button polyps that were hitchhikers with my kenya tree.

I just bought a hammer coral, does anyone here have any bad history with an emerald crab messing with hammers?