Pom Pom Crab With Green Emerald Crab

[kniesh]

Hi, I'm looking to add these 2 to my 55 gallon and was slightly worried the Emerald will go after the Pom Pom, is this likely to be the case or should they be ok together If not I could always add the Pom Pom to my hospital tank instead

 

[ech0o]

well, your pom pom should pick up some aptasia or other anemones in his claws, hence why they are called pom poms, and he will lift them at prospective danger for defense.  the emerald crab won't mess with anything holding an aptasia, they are fairly docile and do a lot of hiding.   is your tank a reef, or a fowlr?   both of these crabs border reef compatibility as emeralds are known to get a little hungry here and there and pick at corals, and pom poms are known to jam stinging anemones into the sides of corals and other things that, although both can be reef compatible if you are very careful.

 

[kniesh]

It's FOWLR at the moment but after Christmas my lighting will be upgraded and Corals added. If the worst comes to the worst with them destroying corals I can always move them to the nano/hospital tank I'm in the middle of setting up

 

[ech0o]

I have an emerald crab in my reef, he does fine with the corals, that little guy eats SO MUCH algae its amazing, you just have to make sure they get fed enough.   I have no experience with the pom poms, but I bet they get stressed if they can't find any anemones to carry around in their claws.

 

[ech0o]

I take back my initial statement, it is actually a very specific anemone that they hold in their claws.

 

[kniesh]

Yeah, they always come with it dont they? I have just read that they still survive without them, if they become detatched etc... but I would be very unlikely to see them

 

[ech0o]

Yea they will survive without them, generally they will find them in the tank eventually, but the anemones get beat up pretty good over time and they will sometimes lose one, no worries when their aren't really any dangers in an aquarium.

Also, are you running a refugium, or just a power filter?  If you are going to add corals, you will want to make sure your nitrates are very low.

 

[Donya]

I've never attempted pom-pom crabs myself, but have looked into them from time to time. It's quite common for pom-pom crabs to lose both anemones in short order in an aquarium. Rarely the anemones will survive, but most pom-poms are anemone-less after a while. Whether it is the crab beating up the anemones by using them as a feeding mop or the anemones being somewhat difficult to support has never been clear to me. After the preferred species of anemone is gone, pom-poms will seek replacement items to carry, sometimes choosing rather odd things. Sometimes they will steal coral polyps or even carry small brislteworms.