Anyone with experiance keeping Emerald crabs?

king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
I was advised that they are teh suxx.
I was under the impression they were great cleaners, and didnt mess with other tank mates. Evidently i want ot avoid them as a part of my cleanup crew...too bad beucase they look pretty cool.
 
gio28

gio28

Active Member
im new to saltwater but i have an Emerald crab and mine leaves everything in my tank alone and does a great job eating bubble algae (that i no longer have)...they are pretty cool...but u have to make sure they have food or they will resort to corals and inverts
 
woody189

woody189

Member
I've had 4. 1st I had 2. 1 killed the other, than the remaining 1 died.
Then I bought 2 more, and IDK how many have I have left. I see it at nighttime, but IDK if I see the same 1 all the time, or if I see 2 diffrerent ones.
anyway, they are great. You don't see them very often, but they don't bother ANYTHING.
They used to chill on the rock, and when a fish gets close, swing a claw at it. It's pretty cute to watch it, but I can't see how it could do any damage. Besides that, they stopped anyway.
They can get pretty darn big though, but that's after many years.
I don't think you will have any problem whatsoever. Go for it. reef safe too.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by woody189
http:///forum/post/3068090
I've had 4. 1st I had 2. 1 killed the other, than the remaining 1 died.
Then I bought 2 more, and IDK how many have I have left. I see it at nighttime, but IDK if I see the same 1 all the time, or if I see 2 diffrerent ones.
anyway, they are great. You don't see them very often, but they don't bother ANYTHING.
They used to chill on the rock, and when a fish gets close, swing a claw at it. It's pretty cute to watch it, but I can't see how it could do any damage. Besides that, they stopped anyway.
They can get pretty darn big though, but that's after many years.
I don't think you will have any problem whatsoever. Go for it. reef safe too.
+1 this has been my experiance as well.
 
sickboy

sickboy

Active Member
+2
I've never had a problem with them, or heard of anyone having a problem with them. I have kept 2 at a time, they just stayed on different sides of the tank.
 
jennln

jennln

Member
I have some spread out over several tanks that have co-existed peacefully with each other and their tankmates for some while now. One, the largest of the group, is the only aggressor. He wasn't always like that but I'm wondering if it's a size thing? He's become quite territorial and took out a cleaner shrimp and pom pom crab on me. He hasn't bothered any of the fish, but then again, they steer clear pretty much of his little corner of the tank. I was going to take him out and trade him back in for a smaller guy but I can't catch him lol. The others have never bothered anything or anyone other than occassionally irking a coral by walking over/through it :D
 
king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
sounds like one is enough for a nano tank. and 2-3 for my 125.
any other recommended crabs for CuC duty? or they all mostly bad?
 
alabama reefer

alabama reefer

Member
I have always had emeralds and always will. The sally lightfoot crabs have always been a great addition for me. They are all over the tank and are constantly picking algae off the rocks.
 
woody189

woody189

Member
Originally Posted by Alabama Reefer
http:///forum/post/3068432
I have always had emeralds and always will. The sally lightfoot crabs have always been a great addition for me. They are all over the tank and are constantly picking algae off the rocks.
Yup. i completely agree.
Even though you barely see them, I love emeralds. I also have 1 SLF.
I read they may get aggressive when they get bigger, but no aggession from mine. He will snatch food out of the my blood shrimps claws, and will scare the shrimp away if it gets too close, but it's never hurt anything. Not even a snail. I got mine pretty small thouhg, and I read they are capabale of taking out a small fish, but I haven't seen anything even close to that type of aggressoin.
Hermit crabs tend to wipe out your snail population, but you can get a few. I have 2 or 3 in my whole tank (46 gal).
 
trouble93

trouble93

Member
I have 4 of them in a 90gal. and I have had no problem with them. There is a lot of rock work and you can see them at work at all times in the day.
 
truperc

truperc

Member
As far as Emeralds, I have 3 in a 60 G. One male and 2 female. I love them.
Additional crabs, I would say Scarlet Hermit Crab, blue leg hermit, electric blue hermit.
I am interested in halloween hermit and electric orange hermit, but I have had no direct experience with these two.
 
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