Rock crab: the true killer

zack schwartz

zack schwartz

Active Member
I just had another fish dispperar in my reef tank. I am now down to none. Over the past 6 monthes I have lost 5 fish. I saw each one the night before and then next dya gone. I have checked all power heads ect.I went to lfs and they said it could be a rock crab. Could it be. Does some one have a pic? Can I try to catch it? I have had my flashlight out the past couple of days but all I found is a large blue leg that I know is not it@!@ What should I do! Parlments are totally fine! <img src="graemlins//eek.gif" border="0" alt="[eek]" />
 
sterling007

sterling007

Member
Zach, let me know if you get pics of "rock crab" because I got a hitchhiker on LR and it is a crab as big around as a tangerine. And I'm having a heck of time catching it.
 
oneflysi

oneflysi

Member
well, i had the same problem about 3 months ago. fish kept dissappearing, and i could never find them. well, i ended up spotting the culprit one day. i never could have anyone tell me exactly what type of crab it was, all they could come up with was a rock crab. he was a mean

[hr]
though. and very nocturnal. he would even hide out at night when i had my small red flashlight on him. he also had like a cave. he broke out a big hole in my LR, climbed in, and held the rock he broke out over the hole like a door...very cool. so search your tank for something hiding out in LR. one things for sure, he was easy to catch. setup a trap, and he was in it within 20 minutes. haha! here is a link to the pics of him. he was very similar to an emerald crab (shape and size wise), but had MASSIVE pinchers. check it out:
<a href="http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4291634997" target="_blank">http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4291634997</a>
notice in the pics....he was picking up an abandoned astrea snail shell, and carry it back to his hole to block it. very interesting and smart crab. good luck with catching him...any questions just let me know.
-One
 
scuba1

scuba1

Member
One chance you have is to make a crab trap out of a plastic coke bottle. By cutting the top section off where the funnel shape ends you can turn that part inside out and put into the bottom half. insert bait and place near where you think he is at night. You can use bait shrimp or squid for bait is you can get it. I have cought several crabs using this cheap device. sometimes it takes several nights. They can get in but not out ... works like a trap they use in the gulf...Good fishing....http://www.cableone.net/tbmoore/TRAP.JPG<a href="http://www.cableone.net/tbmoore/TRAP.JPG" target="_blank">web page</a>
 
oneflysi

oneflysi

Member
i used the same sort of trap, just slightly different. i knew how big he was cause i had seen him before. so i didn't cut quite as much off the top of the bottle. i cut a few small holes in the bottom to rig up a paperclip holding a very small chunk of hotdog (all i had was brine shrimp at the time, and i knew that wouldn't work, so i went with what i had), and set the bottle at an angle next to the rock he was in. left the tank in complete darkness...came down a half hour later and he was trying his hardest to get out...but couldn't :) i then took him and placed him in my q-tank for the night, and took him to the lfs in the morning. i told him how he killed fish, crabs, etc...and they stuck him in with a lionfish. don't know if he lived very long...but he's not causing trouble in my tank anymore ;)
-One
 
scuba1

scuba1

Member
Do not get discouraged. You might get him in an hour or couple of days... Try different things..Move it around..ect on different nts.. but he will come to eat..good luck..
 
sterling007

sterling007

Member
I CAUGHT MINE TONIGHT!! Son of a gun was burrowed under a rock. I had my hasband come out and help, I took all the live rock out of one side of my tank, it's 125 gallons, 6 feet long, and was able to scoop him up in a net when he tried to bury himself in the sand. He's a BIG bugger!! He's in a bucket in the tub, trying to decide what to do with him. If he lives till tomorrow I'll take him to my LFS.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top