Blue leg crabs eating feather duster????

[fish911]

My feather dusters "tube" is slowly disappearing ... however its still out and alive ...
i see the blu leg hermits on it from time to time ... could they be eating it ?
i know there is a lot of deabte whether emerald crabs eat other stuff ( ie sea horses etc!!) ...
suggestion?
and if i remove all the lil crabs what are alternatives in an 8 gal cube to clean the sand bed

 

[perfectdark]

I cant offer an alternative to the crabs because Im not sure what can take their place. I do know that my emerald green attacked my tuxedo urchin and desimated it within an hour. I was told that crabs are opportuists and will seek out a meal as long as its easy they dont care who or what it is along as its edible. It also not unheard of for them to get protein starved and seek out meals that would normally not be on their diet. since then I supplement their scavaging with some raw shrimp or a small piece of raw fish. There is food for them but i dont know what it is and havent looked for it yet.
Your feather duster may very well be getting picked at by your crab/s. If the duster gets agitated enough he may very well ditch is tube and leave it. He'll look pretty funny if this happens but will soon start to make another tube.
Hope this helps

 

[slowburn22]

Two words - Nassarius Snails.... Not only are they great scavengers, but every time food is added to the tank its like night of the living dead. The come up from the sand bed and zoom around the tank. Really quick little guys.

 

[fish911]

VERY INTERSTING ..THKS ...
I DIDNT KNOWO THEY JUST MAKE NEW TUBES!!
IT IS STILL OUT AND LOOKS FINE .. BESIDES ITS TUBE WITH LIL HOLES IN IT :s