Arrow Crab

[john]

I recently purchased an Arrow Crab in order to control my bristle worm problem. According to information from this site, Arrow Crabs are not recommended. Can anyone share any experiences concerning this creature, good or bad. According to the info. from this site, these animals will eat other inverts and corrals.

 

[krazzydart]

YES they sure can be very nasty .... and when they get bigger they are bad in a reef because they pull the rocks apart..... I sugest getting a six-line wrasse because they will eat the bristle worms up and are o.k. in a reef and with other fish and only get about 3" long.... Mine did a great job eating up the bistle worms.......
[This message has been edited by krazzydart (edited 06-20-2000).]

 

[harris]

The arrow crab can get nasty, but it also depends on how large your tank is and what your other inhabitants are. If the arrow crab is also mammoth in size then it may try to throw it's weight around. Just use good judgement. A new arrow crab in a 75+ with hermits and maybe a cleaner shrimp, will most likely not go on a destructive warpath. If there is enough food for everyone can also depend on how civil they act.
Just keep an eye on him.

 

[sshorem]

Let me confuse you. I have had an arrowhead crab in my tank for about 4 months with absolutely NO adverse effects. He seems pretty docile. It doesn't disturb or bother anything in the tank. I throw in some Wardley's shimp pellets every so often and he puts one in each claw and is happy as a clam (pun intended). I do not have a bristle worm problem either

 

[harris]

case in point. It all depends on the environment.
sshorem, how big is your tank?
And what else resides in your water dwelling, maybe we can help John make a better choice?
Harris

 

[john]

The crab has not done anything destructive yet. It only has one claw, are they supposed to have two? Anyway, it is very interesting to watch. My hermits have walked underneath the creature, even touching him at one point, and no hostile action was seen. I appreciate the responses. It is good to hear that some have had some positive experiences with the crab. I'll keep an eye on it. I just wish that the salesperson would of had a little more knowledge on the animal so that I could have made an informed choice. thanks

 

[sshorem]

You can peek at my home page and get the stats, but I have a 44 gal pentagon tank with about 40 lbs of live rock, a mandarin, 2 fire gobies and 2 percula clowns. I have about 10 blue legged hermits, 10 red legged hermits, 2 emerald crabs, 1 sally light foot, 5 pepermint shrimp, 1 cleaner shrimp, 1 coral banded shrimp, 10 turbo snails, a few different soft corals, 2 anemonies. I have a RIO 2500 for circulation, a brand X counter current protien skimmer, a skilter used for circualtion, no mechanical filtration at all, a 175 5500k MH with 2 PC's (1 55 watt daylight 1 55 watt actinic.
WHEW .... that about covers it
[This message has been edited by sshorem (edited 06-16-2000).]