Something Strange is Eating our Crab Catching Bait

[Beverly]

We've trying been catching hitchhiker crabs from our 37g, 67g and 120g reefs. So far, we have caught two crabs from the 37g and one from the 67g Tonight we hit the 67g again :rollface:

We know for sure there is at least one hitchhiker crab in our 120g because we see it in the same place after lights out every night. So, last night, we set up two traps to catch any crabs that cared to be caught. However, no crabs were caught :mad2: And the bait went missing in one of the traps (twice!!), only to be found the second time three feet away from the trap and wrapped in slime :eek2: The following video is of our experience last night and this morning with the missing bait. Hopefully, someone can explain what kind of animal we are dealing with ....

A Strange Thing Happened while Baiting Hitchhiker Crabs, April 16, 2006



BTW, here are videos of the crabs from the 37g and 67g ....

Caught in our 37g - Red Eyed Crab, April 9, 2006

Caught in our 37g - One Black Claw Crab, April 14, 2006

Caught in our 67g - Mystery Crab, April 13, 2006

 

[Safir]

leave the video camera running to catch whatever it is in the act...

 

[Beverly]

Safir,

It's pretty hard to film the tank at night. Video cameras need light to catch the action. Even putting on some kind of moon light would probably keep it from the animal from moving around normally. Plus my camera only runs for one hour before it runs out of battery and/or disc space.

What I think I'm going to try is a nylon stocking setup in the glass. Have read about some successes catching worms that way.

But am still wondering if anyone knows what kind of animal can move two pieces of bait long distances, then protect them in a coccon of slime.

 

[DensityMan]

The Critic's Corner

/anoying_voice_on

While well scripted and directed...

I wanted to see the little green guy from Ghostbusters at the end of that piece.

/annoying_voice_off

:lol:

 

[Beverly]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7198034#post7198034 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DensityMan
I wanted to see the little green guy from Ghostbusters at the end of that piece.

Me too :lol:

Maybe there will be a sequel when we actually catch the culprit

 

[paulallen]

I am pretty sure bristle worms can leave a film like that. Also, is it possible that some of you fish wanted a taste and pulled the bait out enabling all the other critters to get at it.

 

[Beverly]

paulallen, I'm pretty sure none of the fish in that tank are nocturnal feeders. none of the fish, except a 3.5" fairy wrasse, could possibly get into the traps, especially the way they are leaned up against the rock as you will see in the first video below.


Two new videos in the continuing saga of the 120g.....

Crab Baiting Methods, April 18 to April 29, 2006
(8.4 MB, 3:13 minutes)

We Caught A Worm, April 29, 2006
(7.1 MB, 2:18 minutes)

Dr. Ron Shimek's Reefkeeping Magazine article, The Large Worm Turns.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Wow, this is a rather old thread. Not too old. But one thing that was interesting is that you said that you had the snail eating Oenone species worm. Most likely it is Oenone fulgida which is a molusc eater. That means that it eats snails, clams, and guess what? Scallops! What you used as bait. My guess is that it is still a Oenone fulgida.

 

[JerseyReef]

I concur with Travis.

Oenone fulgida can reak havoc in any system, I would know. I had one several years ago. It took my many weeks to catch the worm and remove it from my system.

 

[Beverly]

I also first suspected an oenone worm. But then I realized we did not have any snail deaths for quite some time in the 120g, so I ruled out having an oenone worm in that tank. Last night, by mistake, I left two pieces of scallop in the 120g that we feed our dwarf angel, latticed butterfly and fairy wrasse. I was disgusted that the food had been left in the tank overnight when I went to feed them mysis this morning, but neither piece of scallop had been slimed. We've even baited the 120g last weekend to see if any worms would go for the bait, and, again, no takers. So, either we got the right worm, or we injured another worm badly enough that it is not eating at the moment. Interestingly, only two worms, one of which was a small bristleworm, came out of the six rocks we've treated over the past two weekends.

Anyway, since moving rock from the 120g to our 37g months ago, we have noticed a few snails going missing in the 37g during that time. We would never find the snail until it was totally eaten up and by that time, there was obviously no slime. While catching crabs in all our tanks over the past few weeks, we've baited the 37g and, guess what? The scallop in there was slimed as well.

This morning, while a slash of sunlight hit the side of the 37g, I observed for 2-3 minutes what I believe to be the hind end of a brown worm. This worm did not have the forked pointy things that the worm in the video had, but there is a pile of sticky crud beside the rock where I saw the worm. I'm guessing the worm might be feasting on the eggs our ocellaris pair keep laying to leave such a consistant amount of crud in the same place ever since the clowns have been laying eggs in the BB 37g.

Have my "baked" baking soda/RO concentrate all mixed up and am going to try my luck pouring it over the worm rock from the 37g in the morning. I'll have to almost take down the entire tank, including a GBTA with its foot stuck between two rocks, so it's going to be a full day working in that tank. Will post a video in the next few days of anything we catch.

Wish us luck

 

[akrimmel]

if you know where the crabs are hiding are you able to take out that piece of rock-coral-etc. if so in my experience with hairy crabs the rocks that they were in on they were out of the water they came out of their holes and were easy to get at from there.