I think I know the answer but I'll ask anyway
- Thread starter Voxboy
- Start date
trinity1012
sps addict
no picture
Voxboy
Premium Member
http://www.flickr.com/photos/77783611@N04/8679358772/
Sorry about that.
Sorry about that.
tank master
Member
That crab will irritated your coral. So my opinion would be yes.
joao junior
New member
get out of your reef,you can use a seringe.
Voxboy
Premium Member
Thanks everyone for the information. I found this article. So not sure what to do. Tried getting him out a couple times....little bugger is fast.
Cymo melanodactylus is an obligate commensal of Acropora spp. corals.[4] On the large table coral Acropora cytherea, there are usually just one or two of these crabs per head of coral. The crabs feed mostly on mucus secreted by the coral, but also consume zooplankton and suspended particles and nibble the living tissue,[5] though the coral seems little harmed by this. In 2010 in the Chagos Archipelago, infestations of as many as 47 of these crabs were found on individual heads of coral and these corals exhibited dead and dying tissue. The crabs were in close proximity to the damaged tissues but it was unclear whether the crabs were the original cause of the damage or whether they had moved in to exploit the already dying tissues.[6] A more recent study has shown that Cymo melanodactylus is attracted to acroporid corals suffering from white band disease and that the disease advances at a much slower rate when the crabs are present than it does when they are absent.[7]
I had one that looked very similar on a millepora. It picked at polyps and there was dead tissue in the area it lived in. The coral actually began to grow in a spherical shape around it's little area. When I removed it the damaged areas recovered and the growth pattern returned to normal. The rest of the colony seemed unaffected throughout.
