Tiny Crabs on Acro

[FSOL]

There are two tiny crabs that are residing on my acropora. They are about a 1/8th of an inch in size.

Should I remove them off the acro? i can't tell if they are doing damage to it or not.

Thanks

 

[Tu Ku]

They shouldn't be harmful, I've seen alot of miniature crabs that keep to acroporas for camouflage and I think that they actually help more than they hurt. I would say if you notice any prolonged polyp retraction, like 1-2 days then pull em. They certainly don't seem necessary.

 

[Michael7979]

Depends on the type of crab. A picture would help. Can you describe it?

 

[M. Python]

I just got a beautiful aquicultured acropora and it had a small crab in it, I removed it because it looked a little furry to me. From what I have read is that fuzzy or harry crabs are not ones to keep. Im not sure about this so my answer comes with a question.

Am I correct with this or should I give the crab a chance? It to is about an 1/8th of an inch in size.

 

[mm949]

HAIRY CRAB = BAD CRAB...

 

[ohioreef]

Most likely an acro crab, which is good. Of course a pic would allow a positive ID.

 

[moumda]

Watch for black tips on the claws, they have a tendancy to be bad. Unless you see damage I'd keep them. I think they help take care of red bugs and acro eating flatworms. Wish I could buy some. Anybody?

 

[Brewen]

hairy and blue eyes bad bad bad

 

[2crazyreefers]

I second Brewen hairy and blue eyes go. I have many acro crabs in my sps tank and just this week I got 4 new acros and 1 had both a good crab abd a hairy blue eyed which I got rid of. If you cant get a good look just keep your eyes on it and your coral but be carefull not to leave it too long before you loose track of it. Had 1 I missed as a hitch hicker then found much later that was huge.

 

[ReefNasty]

I have a good acro crab in my tank. It is white with a black mask and has been fine. I did however remove a furry brown crab...I took no chances.

 

[FSOL]

Sorry for the late reply guys. It's hard to take a pic cuz they are so small and kinda near the bottom wedges of the coral, buried in there, so it's hard to take a pic.

I can say that they are kinda white/beige in color nad not hairy.

The polyps of the acro are out and I don't see any visible sign of any damage to the coral.

The only thing is that some of the branch tips of the acro are fully covered in green (the color of the acro) while some have this light bluish/whitish tips. How do you tell if this is sign of growth or sign of tissue loss?

 

[M. Python]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6939286#post6939286 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by moumda
Watch for black tips on the claws, they have a tendancy to be bad. Unless you see damage I'd keep them. I think they help take care of red bugs and acro eating flatworms. Wish I could buy some. Anybody?

This crab i have is about the size of a tick and does have black claws, it is a little fuzzy looking but very small, I removed it. What you are describing sounds like an acropora crab.