how to get rid of crab without killing coralline

[cain420]

will giving my rock that contains a large crab a salt bath likely kill the nice coralline that is starting to grow on it? i think the crab is eating the coralline.. do crabs eat stuff like that?
the rock he stays in is turning white like he is scraping the coralline off it or something and its starting to affect the next rock over too.. heres a pic in case that might help.
the crab has hollow point claws, looks hairy like a gorilla but his claws are too stubby to be a gorilla.. theres a pic of my clownfish showin off too,..
do u think the crab is responsible for all the white on that rock? i really dont want to kill the coralline tho..
first pic - the nemo's
second pic - finally, some color to the tank comin in.. green, but better then lookin at bare rock!
third pic - the rock where the crab lives.. notice the white.. is he scrapin my coralline?
and sorry for repeating myself, but how do i get rid of him without damaging the coralline?
any help is appreciated.. suggestions welcome too!
oh yea.. and hows it lookin so far??

 

[cain420]

oh yea.. and does my tank look ready for a clean up crew??
if so, what are some suggested ones? i have a little bit of the bubble algae growin in and heard tangs are good for that, but i wanna wait and see if its gonna be a problem first.. or should i not wait?? should i vaccuum or will a cleanup crew take good care of that?

 

[xrobbx03]

how old is the tank? I wouldve added a cleanup crew right after my tank cycled. The rock turning white could be that it is still going through a die off. What are your water parameters?

 

[cain420]

ammonia 0.125, nitrite 0.025ppm, nitrate 2.5ppm, ph 8.2, alk 2.8
the most spike in ammonia even with the shrimp was 0.5ppm, was 0.125 when i filled it..
the nitrites only went up to 0.5ppm, and nitrates only peaked at 20 (for 1 day)
the tank is still pretty new, finished cycle about 5 days ago, added clownfish 2 days ago.. tank only cycled for a week and a half using 28bs sand, 40lbs ls, 72lbs of lr (16lbs of that came from a well established tank.. those are the ones with the coralline..), and i used 3 pieces of dead shrimp to start cycle.. wasnt a long cycle tho, i think due to the established lr.. the other 56lbs of lr were full of critters to start with.. i never bathed the rocks, and i think the crab may have came from the well established tank (maybe thats why he gave it to me!).. his tank is beautiful and very healthy.
sorry if i repeated anything up there, just wanted to make sure i didnt leave nothin out

 

[sweetdawn]

if you still have amonia and nitrite in your tank your cycle is not done. sometimes a cycle can take a couple of months and can you point an arrow at the white spots your talking about it looks normal to me

 

[cain420]

i am talkin about the bottom pic, in the middle... everywhere on that rock where there isnt coralline.. its white, and the crab scrapes at it, and now the rock next to it on the left is getting whitish like the one he lives in.. i dont think that big of a crab would eat die off..and if the rock was dying off, wouldnt i see that in the ammonia? ive been overfeeding the tank a little since i got the clownfish, due to the fact that they wont eat what i give em, chase after it, spit it out, but i got em eatin brine shrimp now. But the leftover food could easily cause my 0.125ppm ammonia reading

 

[xrobbx03]

i wouldnt have put any fish in there until ammonia and nitrite were at 0. This fish might not be eating cause they are stressed and overfeeding them is not helping ur ammonia situation. If i were you i would start doing some daily water changed till all your levels are 0. I really dont think that the crab is making the rock turn white, hes probably looking for food on it. The white is due to the tank is still in its cycle.

 

[cain420]

readings were at 0 when i put fish in.. they stayed at 0 for 3 days with no change in cloudiness or anything, when i added the fish, the ammonia went up very slightly.. i think cuz of the food.. which i believe the extra food can also lead to a rise in nitrite and a rise in nitrate just as i have a slight increase.. or i could be wrong.. but they were at 0 when i put fish in..
would a salt bath kill coralline? i know it should get the crab out of the rock!

 

[mr_bill]

I don't know of any crabs that eat coralline algae. As far as the ammonia... you might be feeding too much.

 

[wax32]

By my math, you have almost 60 pounds of rock that wasn't from an established tank. That stuff is still curing. That is why your coralline is turning white (it's dying a little) and is also why you have some ammonia and nitrites in your tank. The crab isn't doing anything. Keep up with water changes and don't let your ammonia get above 0.5 ppm. The coralline will come back. Don't add any cleaning crew until your ammonia and nitrites get back to zero and stay that way for a week.

 

[cain420]

ok.. should i vaccuum the sand? i also found a few more hitch hikers:
the first 2 pics are of this feather lookin thing that went floating around the tank for a lil bit..
the last one is some thing that is walkin around on my glass.. it isnt very thick.. about 1/64".. could it be a sand biscuit?

 

[wax32]

Don't vacuum your sand. Relax!

 

[xrobbx03]

saltwater tanks take alot of patience. Take your time and it will be fine.