opinions on acro crabs..

[toddmh]

right when the lights came on today I seen a tiny white crab on top of one of my acros,as the light ramped up he ducked deep into the colony..

After reading a couple blogs on these guys,some poeple say they are natural to acros and have a symbiotic relationship with corals..

others say they are pests in a aquarium setting,that in a control aquarium setting nothing can be proved that they have any benefit to the corals health..

What do you guys think?hes way to small and timid,i'd never be able to get him out of the coral with out severe damage to the coral anyway..

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

post a pic.

some of those crabs are desirable and some aren't. As a general rule, Acro crabs that are hairy and/or have red eyes are "bad".

 

[Bluephish13]

If it is a real symbiotic crab then they are great finds. lucky. I am on the look out for another if you do not want him.

 

[5380]

I like the white ones with a black striipe mask over their eyes for my acros. My SPS colonies do better with them for whatever reason. I picked up a big orange one from LA that won't host my corals I think he needs a poci.

 

[toddmh]

hes a real tiny white one,I'll try to get a pic of him today..hes a really shy critter though lol

 

[toddmh]

kinda a bad pic but you can see him checking me out with his beady little eyes lol

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

white with black mask = "good"

 

[cardiffgiant]

Do LFS ever carry these?

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Do LFS ever carry these?

as symbionts of Acro's....yes.
I've seen Foster & S offer them for sale as a separate item.

 

[Johnny C]

I like the white ones with a black striipe mask over their eyes for my acros. My SPS colonies do better with them for whatever reason. I picked up a big orange one from LA that won't host my corals I think he needs a poci.

The acropora does better because the crab defends it from pests! I have a couple, I love them!

 

[danrobberg]

ive usually only gotten them with maricultured acros. ive gotten two so far with small colonies from saltwater paridise

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

The acropora does better because the crab defends it from pests! I have a couple, I love them!

to further elaborate:

Xanthiids (and similar species) protect their host coral from predation (crown of thorns, butterflyfish etc.) and PERHAPS even from AEFW's

 

[toddmh]

nice ...great info guys

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

so.....

so.....

watcha' gonna do with the crab?

 

[toddmh]

watcha' gonna do with the crab?

he seems happy at the moment in that coral :love2: Also the coral dont seem to mind him,he only retracts his polyps right where the crab doing its thing lol

I'll let him hang there for a wile,hes shy anway.Any movement around him he dives into the middle of the coral..

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

if it's a "good" crab I'd advise you leave him to his home...