The case of the Midnight Munchies

[oscarmeir]

I'm sure I'm not the only one who does this, but last night, after the lights were off for an an hour or so, I took a flashlight and did a random sweep for intruders.

So at first everything seemed fine. Just a hermit taking a stroll. (Exhibit A)


Then I see a clump of white fluff in the hammer. I was sure it was a dead algae clump or something as I had just done some maintenance (water change, epoxy of some frags that I'd been meaning to do for a while now).

But then it moved.

And slowly makes its way to the top of the hammer and calmly selects a juicy piece.

By this time I had the lights back on and camera rolling. (Exhibit B)



Definitely got two black dots for eyes and a bit of an antenna.

He snips the piece off and heads off the tree and enjoys his dinner. (Exhibit C)



At that point I rolled up my sleeves and tried to extract him but it was a hopeless chase. He headed for the hills with the poor hammer piece in tow.

Now he wasn't small, I'd say an inch to an inch and a half across.

I did purchase an emerald crab over a year ago to deal with some bubble algae and haven't seen him since, literally over a year without a sight.

Can this be my emerald wearing camouflage for his nightly escapades?

Or do I have a hitchhiker that has been slowly growing and annoying my corals to death?

LiveAquaria lists emeralds as reef safe as long as they have food to eat, and my tank has been up for 3 years with loads of algae and daily feedings. And this guy was clearly munching a hammer without a care in the world. Didn't even split when the lights went on...

I'd appreciate your efforts to ID this fellow but more so can you share any tips of how to catch a crab in a 90 gallon 4ft long tank? This guy has a nice sump waiting for him...

Thanks,
O.

 

[rffanat1c]

Teddy bear crab

 

[GHsaltie]

Look up teddy bear crab, that's what it looks like to me. Would be very interesting to have in its own little tank, but definitely not reef safe (as your poor beautiful hammer found out). As far as catching it I don't have much input, ive only heard of the bottle trap technique. I wish you good luck though!

 

[oscarmeir]

Yeah... seems like it.

Thanks

On to plan B.

How do we get this fellow out?

 

[sde1500]

bottle trap maybe? or get a red flashlight, a skewer, and patience, though that method would assure he doesn't make it to the sump...

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Either a bottle trap or a tall smooth sided glass baited with raw seafood then tipped against the rock work.

 

[oscarmeir]

We're done.

Set up a tall cup. Within 20 minutes I had three hermits chilling inside.

Figured leave it and see what happens, a few hours later I see Teddy chilling in the exact same spot as last night with a mouth full of hammer.
Thankfully he was sitting in the sand, used a stick to send him to open area, netted him, and he's safe and sound in the sump.



Thanks for the advise and support!
The End.

 

[davocean]

Nice, and cool photo documentation, inspires me to do the night watch myself

 

[rffanat1c]

Nice work. These things are so darn cool but heck no would I actually want one

 

[oscarmeir]

P.s.

P.s.

Interesting Postscript.

So I went to my LFS for some goodies over the weekend, and came home with a small Star Polyp and Zoa. Figured not taking any chances and did a double dip, once in ReefDip (Seachem) and once in Revive.

And of all the critters to tumble out...


Now once we're on the topic, what in the world was next to him? Definitely alive and moving...



And for the record, I have never had such an infested coral before, shame to kill those brittle stars and the pods, but there was some things in there I couldn't take responsibility for.

 

[Maritimer]

The thing that fell out next to the teddybear looks like a nudibranch - some of which specialize in feeding on zoanthids. (Nudis tend to be specialist feeders...)

Good catch, getting those two out - shame, as you say, about the 'pods and stars . . .

~Bruce

 

[oscarmeir]

There is no rest for the weary.

It seems that Nudi above managed to lay some eggs before she was removed.
Pulled this baby off a zoa last night.


I've found in the past that dipping in Hydrogen Peroxide, aside from being efficient in eradicating GHA, was also great at wiping out all forms of live on a coral. Everything and anything came off. And my Zoa's bounced back in good spirits.

Would that be effective against nudi eggs as well? I don't see any but if there's a baby - there's eggs.

Also are nudi eggs only found on Zoa's or can they be laid anywhere?

Thanks guys
O.