How hard is it to get out an emaerald?

ninjamini

ninjamini

Active Member
How hard is it to get out an emerald. I have one really big bubble algae and I want to get some emeralds to clean it up. I want to get one of the really big honkin ones. I think there cool. But I want to know I can get him out of the 90 gallon if he becomes a pest.
 
emm0909

emm0909

Member
HAHA. They seem slow but just wait till you try to catch it. You'd be better off spearing him with a needle on the end of a dowel. Whats the matter with leaving him in there?
I knew a guy that had a real bad bubble algae problem so he dropped a whole bunch of emeralds in. The algae disappeared and the emeralds slowly did the same. Until one day he caught one eating another. One had grown so huge that it was just running around eating the others. LOL.
 
indyws6

indyws6

Member
Greetings

Maybe I am just unlucky, but I added two Emerald Crabs to my 90 gallon reef for general clean-up crew purposes and to take care of a small bubble algae problem. They have done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING with the bubble algae. I wonder if the assertion that they are good for this purpose is over-rated. If they are, the ones I bought are rejects!
Are there other (possibly better) options for dealing with bubble algae?
P.S. Good Luck...
 
wax32

wax32

Active Member
Unless you have tiny frags that the emerald crab might knock over they are unlikely to become a problem in most reef tanks.
 
lazuruskfp

lazuruskfp

Member
They are great... I bought one really big tan colored emerald crab (he turned green about 2 months later in my tank and doubled in size). Only problem is that if you ever did want to get him out for some reason they are nimble as all hell, and very defensive against large predators as they grow.... like your hand... mine gave me one hell of a pinch the other day when I tried to take out my seaweed clip without noticing he was attached
 
J

jamparty

Guest
would you say that rather than simply having several emeralds that it would be better to mix it up a bit and put say emeralds with a mix of sally lightfoots?
I love both crabs!
 
snaredrum

snaredrum

Member
Originally Posted by ninjamini
I thought that I read here of emeralds eating shrooms and polips.
I know they will eat Xenias. I caught mine picking at the Xenias little figures. Now the Xenias won't open all the way. My LFS shop said that once they get a taste of soft coral, keep an eye on them.
 
nycbob

nycbob

Active Member
my emerald crab eats my star polyps. but nothing too majot so i just leave him in there. i figure its a natural way to control it from growing all over.
 
ninjamini

ninjamini

Active Member
Thats an emerald? r u sure?
Originally Posted by puffer32
I have 2 big guys in my tank, harmless so far. Check this one out
 
wax32

wax32

Active Member
I wouldn't think it was, same with the one I posted...
BUT, the genus has a few different crabs that look similar... the shape of the claws make me think it is probably an ok crab.
 
azfishgal

azfishgal

Active Member
I have three emerald crabs and love them. I have Xenia, GSP, Kenya Tree, Zoos, Frogspawn, Torch, Open Brain, Mushrooms and they don't bother anything, at least not yet. One even likes to come out to the glass and say "Hi" every once in a while.

 
skipperdz

skipperdz

Active Member
i have 5 emeralds in my tank...they eat algae and sit on rocks all day...when you want them gone..pull out the rock (bieng out of water doesnt hurt them)or lift and shake the rock in hte water near the sand and he'll jump off. then scoop him up.
 
earlybird

earlybird

Active Member
Isn't there a way to tell gender of the emerald crab and isn't one better than the other male or female?
 
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