He had to go!

[ybenormal]

About two or three weeks after adding TBS rocks to my tank, I noticed a cute little crab crawling around under a rock. He was very small and wasn't doing any damage but I decided to keep an eye on him just in case.

He has molted twice in the past three weeks and is now over an inch wide. I never realized they could grow that fast! Anyway, I came home two days ago and noticed huge caves had been dug under my rockwork. I can't have my tank being torn up by a crab, so I decided that he would have to go.

I came home the next evening to find the crab on the other side of the tank. He had chased my brittle star out of his hiding place and the star was now wrapped around a powerhead near the top of the tank. The crab had climbed the rocks and was trying to reach the starfish. Not good! The crab has been relocated to my sump where he will live a long and happy life--but only if he behaves!

 

[Sk8r]

Those claws mean business. good job you got him!

 

[Bebo77]

you were nice... i stab them and mix it in with their food..












jk

 

[ybenormal]

I noticed that one leg on my starfish is a little shorter than the others. I had seen it and the crab fighting over food a couple of weeks ago. The star won the battle but I think that might be when he lost part of his leg.

It would have been very hard to catch the crab if he had not climbed to the otp of the rocks. I was able to place a small glass in the tank and guide him into it with a couple of brushes. He's the only bad hitchhiker I've seen so far though.

 

[Safir]

oo - he's neat looking! if you decide to get rid of him entirely i'll take him - i have a small tank I use to house all my bad hitchikers

 

[ybenormal]

He's busy rearranging the sand in my sump right now but I will keep you in mind if I ever decide that he would be happier elsewhere.

 

[mikehulen]

Stone crab. They are quite efficient at re-aquascaping your tank

 

[goblinsharkman]

yea, thats a stone crab, they get gigantic! seriously get rid of him, they are evil and nothing but trouble

 

[ybenormal]

He's in a sump where he can do no harm--other than maybe attacking one of three very large hermits. He's interesting and I have plenty of room for him, so I'll hang on to him for now.

 

[figuerres]

some reading:
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/stonecrab/

Hmm.... 3x4 inches body and thats - legs and claws

eats oysters -- digs in mud

your crab must be a baby, sounds like it will get to 3 inches in less than a year given good care.... but it also eats all your pods and sand bed faunua....

"polychaete worms, and other crustaceans."

good way to kill a fuge or a sand bed from the info given.

 

[ybenormal]

Fuge and RDSB is separate from the sump in my case. The sump is only 18 gallons, used primarily to house the heater and skimmers. The middle section has about two inches of sand and some rocks and is devoted to castaways like this little guy. Short of nabbing one of my fingers, there's nothing important that he can harm there.

 

[jaymz101]

or grow him up and harvest claws off him one at a time (they grow back with the next few molts) yum, stone crab.

 

[ybenormal]

I keep telling my daughter that I plan on harvesting his claws. Drives her up the wall!

 

[liverock]

Claws

Claws

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7383252#post7383252 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jaymz101
or grow him up and harvest claws off him one at a time (they grow back with the next few molts) yum, stone crab.

The large claws here go for $25 a pound!
TBS

 

[figuerres]

Re: Claws

Re: Claws

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7390008#post7390008 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by liverock
The large claws here go for $25 a pound!
TBS

Hmmm..... new sideline for TBS reefers:

setup stone crab farming tanks.....

big tank of lr and crabs from TBS, harvest claws to pay for more reef stuff :lol:

 

[flameangel88]

lol. I was thinking the thing and started to calculate and that's a lot of claws to buy my 75g package.

 

[figuerres]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7391578#post7391578 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by flameangel88
lol. I was thinking the thing and started to calculate and that's a lot of claws to buy my 75g package.

Hmmm.... backyard pool conversion to new aquaculture system??

Swim if you want, just don't touch bottom unless you want to lose a toe! :eek1:

 

[HowardW]

Aw crap......I just spotted one of those stone crabs in my tank today too. He was actually slightly moving a small baseball size rock from underneath by burrowing behind it. He has a body slightly larger than a nickel and looks to be a very dark red (nearly black) and is faster than hell too.

This guy has trouble written all over him, LOL, and I think I'm gonna have a hard time nabbing this guy :-(

 

[figuerres]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7436743#post7436743 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by HowardW
Aw crap......I just spotted one of those stone crabs in my tank today too. He was actually slightly moving a small baseball size rock from underneath by burrowing behind it. He has a body slightly larger than a nickel and looks to be a very dark red (nearly black) and is faster than hell too.

This guy has trouble written all over him, LOL, and I think I'm gonna have a hard time nabbing this guy :-(

see if you can get him with a small "Crab Pot"

like a small jar with some shrimp in it that he can crawl into ...
tie a cord to it and when he's having lunch just lift him out.

or some other trap like that...

 

[ybenormal]

I tried using a baited shot glass with no luck. Once he decided to crawl to the upper section of the rocks though, it was very easy to guide him into the glass using two thin bottle brushes.

Good luck catching yours and I agree--nothing but trouble in a reef. Mine is in the sump now and digs huge holes in the sand under the rocks. He also attacks pieces of krill, shrimp and other foods that are offered and will eat out of my hand. No fear at all!