Jerk Emerald crab free to a good home

[SpiderWhistle]

It's too bad, we really liked this guy, but he's gotta go. The day I put my zoas in the tank he took chunk out of one, before I chased him off. I've been feeding him sinking crab pellets since, and he hasn't gone near them again. However, I have seen him go after my nassarius snails, and a bumblebee snail is MIA after an encounter with him today. There also seems to be one less hermit every morning...
He does seem to enjoy bubble algae, so at least there's something going for him!

Obviously not a good candidate for most tanks, but in the right environment he'd be a great addition.
PM if you want him, I'll be around this weekend.

 

[Mav]

I had an emerald do the same thing! Jerks I tell ya. Plus they only come out at night. The bubble algae craving is a plus

 

[mathewkofalk]

wow that sucks i never had a problem with them before, except a porcelain crab but i cant prove that anyway i may be interested no corals in my tank yet but maybe i can feed him well enough to leave them alone i have a 75 gallon how big is the tank he is in.

 

[SpiderWhistle]

Yeah it's a bummer. I've heard of people having this problem, but it seems like most of the time they behave, so I took a gamble and went for it. I had one helluva time getting him out of there last night! Totally freaked out everything else in the tank... he now resides in solitary in the sump, awaiting his new home.

He was in a 50gal. Regular feeding seemed to keep him away from the zoas. As far as the other inverts, he's either wrongfully accused, or just being an opportunistic little carnivore.

 

[jda123]

I have always found emeralds to be very well behaved if they are well fed. If the algae is getting sparse, then they won't usually starve...

If there is not enough algae to keep the emerald happy, then the crabs could be starving too. Have you seen the emerald attacking a crab? I don't think that they have the claw structure to dislodge them.

Is it just me, or do they always seem to pick on your prized corals?

 

[SpiderWhistle]

In his defense, I haven't actually seen him kill a crab, so it is possible they're offing each other. I've intervened in the snail incidents, so I don't know if he was setting out cause trouble or was just being crotchety about them getting too close. I did witness the zoa attach though, and yeah it figures, I'm showing them off only a couple hours after I got them, and chomp!
I will admit that being my first emerald, I wasn't as knowledgeable about their diet as I should have been. My tank is only a few months old, so there may not be enough algae to sustain am emerald. However, I figured that out just a few days after putting him in there, and since he took a bit out of the zoa I've been supplementing with sinking pellets every other day (directly into his maw), so I can't imagine he's that hungry.

 

[Fitz19d]

I'd take him, but your are a bit far. My weekly trip to Denver only takes me down to 104th. Seems a bit far to go for a $5 crab. Worst case scenario, if your sump has a refugium he can just keep that clean. Otherwise always the LFS.

 

[SpiderWhistle]

Yeah I don't blame ya, not really work the trip. lol
I actually just finished building my fuge and will be installing it this weekend. I had considered leaving the crab to his own devices in there, I just didn't know if that would be cruel- the footprint is only 7x14. Though I guess people keep them in nano tanks....

 

[Fitz19d]

I think it's fine, just make sure to maybe throw him some extra treats on occasion.

 

[jda123]

I would keep it. There will be a day when you wish that you had a good algae eater... just keep it fed until then.

 

[SpiderWhistle]

Well maybe I'll do that then. Plus it might alleviate some of my guilt about removing him from the display tank. haha