I Found A Crab In My Tank

[Mad_aussie5]

hey guys what should i do? found a little crab about 1/2" across in my tank lurking in the rocks. should i remove him or just let him be. i have a coral banded shrimp, maroon clown and a blue/green chromis.
any advise is helpful

 

[Fish Fingers]

Any crab found in my tank gets a swift skewer between the eyes

I don't trust them at all, but it depends on what type of crab it is. Can you give us a description or picture?

 

[Mr Miagi]

Any crab found in my tank gets a swift skewer between the eyes

I don't trust them at all, but it depends on what type of crab it is. Can you give us a description or picture?

NOOO! LOL! I keep my Crabs. IMO they play an important role in my aquarium. But its uop to the individual. Many SPS keepers remove crabs because they can eat/nip polyps. Mine feed on algae, it really depends on species. I agree with Fish FIngers, we really need a pic for a true ID.

If no pics can be taken, you could always house him in the sump iif you have one!

 

[Navarre]

I would not kill them. If it became a problem i would sump it but its not the crabs fault its suddenly found its way into your tank and its doing only what comes naturally. They are scavengers and very good at searching out left over food. Be vigilant however and watch it closley to see how big it gets and what it seems to primarily feed on. Watch its clwos too. If they end in points then its probably a predator but if they end in spoon shaped claws then its likely to be an algae eater.

 

[Chac]

A pic would help no end

I defo wouldnt kill him Nuisence or Not

 

[ryanryan]

I think that you should get rid of it but be careful that you dontget biten

 

[bleechme]

Awesome! Did you buy live sand or something to get it?

 

[J-Money]

Awesome! Did you buy live sand or something to get it?

Probably Live Rock...

 

[bleechme]

So crabs live in the live rock?

 

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

So crabs live in the live rock?

Yes they are one of the many "hitch hikers" you will find with live rock.

 

[mantis147]

Crabs can be good & bad i got home yesterday to find my electric blue hermit chewing on one of my turbo snails!!!

 

[FishOwner]

I had a crab that came in as a hitchhiker too. It was supposed to be one of the "bad" types because it had black tipped claws, but I thought it was kinda cool. Anyway, I ended up target feeding him and he never bothered anything in my tank and was a nice addition. I used to give him hunks of raw shrimp 2 to 3 times a week (you can buy this at the grocery store), I used a feeding stick with a rubberband wrapped around the end of it, then just tuck a piece of shrimp in the rubberband (just the end part of the shrimp or the crab won't be able to pull it out). I had to do this because my clown would otherwise just grab the shrimp and run. It was kinda cool too as the crab would have to work a bit to get the shrimp out and he got pretty strong! I had him for about 3.5 years and then one day he just disappeared.
Obviously, if you see the crab going after your fish you will have to remove him, but you can always try this method and see how it goes!

 

[J-Money]

FishOwner, How long have you had your 75g up and running? I didn't think a Yellow Tang, Picasso Trigger, and Niger Trigger would all get along in that small a tank )

 

[FishOwner]

Hi J-Money!
The 75g has been up and running for about 8 months now. The yellow tang I've had for 5 years and she used to live in my 55g. The other fish are all babies with the niger being the smallest and newest addition. Not to worry as they will all be upgraded to a 125g and the niger will be given away once she gets too big for that tank! (I have a friend in the process of setting up a 400g - talk about a project!!). Then, when all the saltwater fish are out of the 75g, the freshwater fish in the 40g will upgrade to that tank.

I suppose I should explain that I don't usually buy fish that I can't accomodate (or eventually be able to accomodate) for their entire lives. The niger was really an impulse buy. I know it's a bad move but at the LFS they had three nigers in one of those small display containers and she was being beaten to a pulp. And I do know that it's better to let the LFS lose money on a fish that they either aren't taking care of or shouldn't sell, but she was so little and helpless and I caved. So for now she's doing great and later on she has a much bigger tank to go to which is also great!