Emerald Crabs

[hlp]

Do emerald crabs molt? I had three, one I found upside down one morning but was still moving. Placed him on a rock and a day or two later decided he was dead. The next day same deal with another crab. Water tests do not reveal a problem. Any suggestions?

 

[tommyfish]

What other fish do you have in the tank?

 

[hlp]

We have a yellow tang, blue damsel, percula clown, and a LMB.

 

[tommyfish]

I was thinking that a fish was harrasing the crabs. Were the rest of them O.K. at the store ,or are they not doing well? Maybe they were stressed to bad in shipment to them.

 

[crm13]

Is he definitely dead, or had he just molted. The first time that I had one molt, I mistook it for being dead, until I pulled it out and realized that all I had removed was a shell... but, I swear, it looked just like a dead one that had it's inerts eaten.

 

[hlp]

It is not a molt. They are not moving at all right now. How long should it take to molt? How do they behave when molting?

 

[barry cuda]

I've bought four emeralds and only have two left. An NH4 spike claimed the second one, but the first one to die just mysteriously "kicked the bucket." I suspect maybe emeralds aren't as hardy as the other crustaceans I'm keeping with more success, such as hermits & cleaner shrimp.

 

[crm13]

I have four of those things; I originally had five of them which I purchased for my reef, but I caught them popping the heads off my yellow polyps. Coincidentally, around the same time I was setting up my q.t., so I caught the four that I had and put them in the q.t. I actually used them to help cycle it. I have to say, those guys have seen some nasty days, and the four of them are still tickin'... it's been about six months now... and two of them are huge, the heads of the two big ones are about 3/4 the size of a snapple cap. Anyway, that is what I have noticed about their durability. Why the first one died, I don't know. But, theoretically, they are sensitive to moderate levels of nitrites, and nitrates...so, I would say maybe check those and your ammonia and see if maybe that's it.

 

[crm13]

oh, and I also noticed that you had said that they are not moving. When I first got mine, they did that for about three days, well, a couple of them did. They didn't move much at all if any. I think that maybe they are just getting acclimated to the new environment.