oops, i have crabs...pls help

[seaduck]

My crabs are getting up on the egg crate where i grow my zoas. They have a big party and throw frags off the edges onto the gravel, turn them upside down, pull them off the pads..etc. Crabs in question are: sally lightfoot, emerald, rlhermits, blhermits.

Now I know that they r just scavaging for food and actually clean the frags and pads of algea.. etc.. but this is getting ridiculous. The only safe frags r the ones on pads with the posts on the bottom that stick thru the eggcrate.

So my question is, are the crabs too beneficial to remove from the zoa growing area? Or can i enclose my zoas in a crab/fish proof cage to keep the crabs out???

Lowes sells 1/2" by 1/2" squares black plastic mesh in the garden section that is perfect to use for constructing a cage to go around the zoa frag area. What do you think?

Am I being too protective of my zoas???

 

[650-IS350]

Do you have the egg crate on magnets that allow you to adjust the height? It allows me to move them around, raise the height.

The only time hermits go on my frags are when I place them there temporarily to clean the frags then off the rack with them and back to the sand.

IMO' I don't trust Sallylightfoots, they're not totally reefsafe, will get large and aggressive.

 

[seaduck]

Magnetic frag shelf elevator, now this is some high tech space station type stuff. 650 u da man. U just raise em up outta reach of the crabs.."brilliant". My prob is that "big" sally light foot can climb the glass and go wherever it wants. Also my lawn mower blenny likes to get up there to clean the algea from between the squares and his happy wagging tail knocks stuff every where.

 

[flyyyguy]

Unless commensal...crabs suck



Collect all of them and send them to me. I will feed them to my trigger

 

[650-IS350]

My blenny always goes on my trays but doesn't bother the polyps much.

As for the crab, I really doubt any crab can climb up smooth glass surfaces especially straight vertical. Do you have pics of this guy?
Only way my hermits can get there is if I move the tray too close to a rock edge where the can work their magic to some how get over.

 

[seaduck]

Sally crawls all over the back glass as it is covered in coraline. Crabs are a big pita but not bad enough for trigger food. What kind of trigger do u have flyy??? I had a niger for a short time until he started digging huge holes under the rock. The tank was always cloudy from him doing the digging thing.

I'm either going to glue all my frags to post style pads or cover them with a 1/2"x1/2" mesh cage or both. Yes both. I can put a few very small hermits inside the cage for a periodic cleaning.

 

[650-IS350]

You can use a stainless steel blade to scrape off the coraline algae, but that's only if you have a glass tank.

 

[Reef Bass]

Everybody needs magnetic frag racks. Check out my buddy's Frag A Rack

My hermits of all types go up my coraline encrusted tank walls. I scrape the front and part of one side but that's it.

seaduck, IME, blue leg hermits are little s.o.b.'s that are no longer welcome in my tanks. Red legs are fine.

 

[650-IS350]

I don't bother with blue legs. Snails killers... LOL

 

[Skeptic_07]

Shaving won't work, you've have to use the shampoo. :thumbsup:

 

[seaduck]

these crabs drink that shampoo like its beer.

 

[seaduck]

I didn't know that blue legs are lil hellians. red legs blue legs crabs are crabs or so i thought. Maybe thats way i don't have any snails left. I may send these blue legs to visit flyyguys trigger or sentence them to life in the sump.

 

[650-IS350]

my blue legs used to take out larger scarlet hermits. and sometimes other molting inverts.