Hermit Crab Damaged My Dragon Soul Brain

Thunder3

New member
I had 2 commensal worm things and then a hermit crab was attacking the area so I put the crab in the sump but the damage was already done. It caused some algae in that area. I took a tooth brush and brush the algae off but it just comes back. I try putting a snail on that area. Should I frag this area from the coral? My LFS has a band saw. Will this eventually heal if the damaged area was removed. The area still has tissue because there is no white. What do you guys think I should do?
 

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I don't know what to tell you about your coral, but I do know that the only good crab is a dead crab! :angryfire:
 
So are crabs not needed then if I load it with snails?

IMO, hermits are more trouble than they're worth. Sure they're interesting to watch, and can clean the little nooks & crannies that snails can't reach. But then they start murdering your snails, and you go & read a post like this.....

The only crab I would keep in my DT is a small emerald. And only if I had a bad bubble algae problem. Even emeralds can turn into problems as they get bigger.
 
Your coral is most likely fine. clean that area up and try not to damage any of the tissue around it. I think it should eventually grow back over that area, it will take time though. In fact the crabs and worms were probably doing you a favor and cleaning it, they probably didnt cause the damage, but that is a conversation that will go on for years (and it has) so i wont even get into that :)

i had a brain coral that had a big line of die off in the middle, about an inch wide. It split the piece into two seperate "healthy" sections. It was like that when i got it, and it had been there for a while because the area was covered in coraline... over about a year it grew together and now you cant even tell there was a gap there. its not going to happen over night though.
 
I agree with Meshmez, the Hermit Crab did not damgae your coral, now they will attack snails for the shell, especially if you don't put spare shells in for them, but in my almost 20 years of reef keeping I've found Hermit Crabs to be just as useful as snails & worms & pods, they all combine to do their share, but damaging corals isn't usually on the list. Larger crabs can be a pain in the rear, so I quit employing them years ago.
 
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