Galaxia coral. A predator?

[jbird69]

My galaxia is isolated from my reef as to avoid sweeper damage to any other livestock. Tho there is an increasing collection of empty snail and hermit shells next to it. Is there any way this coral could be killing these inverts? Or is it just coincidental?

 

[surge19us]

Coincidence. Maybe some hermit looking for a new shell calls that spot home.

 

[bubbly]

I would imagine that it needs a mouth big enough to be able to eat the hermits and snails, plus they have shells they can crawl into.

You can always drop a hermit onto it and see what happens -- if it gets eaten, you know the coral's a killer. If it walks away, you know it's just the flow pattern in the tank.

I would be really surprised if galaxia could eat hermit crabs.

 

[jbird69]

Predator may have been the wrong term. I thought maybe they were getting too close, getting stung and then being finished off by my hawkfish or other hermits??

 

[DetectiveTofu]

I doubt it

 

[CorkPullerPHL]

my hermits crawl all over my galaxia, with no problem.

On the other hand, that thing has some potent sweepers. It has destroyed my montipora that is 6 inches away.