I have crabs

sduda

sduda

Member
Probably not what you were thinking but I am having a major problem with some sort of hitchhiker! I purchased a great true perc about a month ago and about 2 weeks ago, he died mysteriously. All my water chemistry checked out perfect and none of the other stuff was stressed in any way (a damsel and domino and several pieces of coral like frogspawn, star polyps, etc.). I wrote it off as a fluke. I purchased a yellow tang yesterday and was extra careful to acclimate him to make sure I was not messing him up. No problem, was doing well. Went to bed around 2 AM and woke up at 7, looking in the tank for my tang and he was no where to be found. I adjusted my moonbeam and saw this harry crab tearing into the little guy! I don't know what the heck the crab was but I never purchased him so I assume 2 years ago the son of a gun hitched a ride. Do you think he grabbed hold of him and is to blame for multiple homicides?:confused: If so, how would I catch him and ditch him? I am also wondering, I have heard a loud clicking noise from time to time, do you think this is the guy making the noise? It sounds like he is banging 2 pieces of rock together. I am not going to purchase any additional fish until I can pinpoint the cause. Thanks for your help.
 
T

thomas712

Guest
I would GUESS that the crab is not your problem, hes just cleaning up after the mantis shrimp. Are you loosing your snails?
Thomas
 
von_rahvin

von_rahvin

Member
the loud popping noise could be a mantis. and if that is true, if will be fun for you to try to catch them. I would not assume that the crab is the killer. if the fish was killed the crab would then go over and munch on it. can you take a pic of the crab.
other question what kind of LR did you get? if it is from florida it it could be a stone crab, and those guys are quite aggressive. if it was gulf rock, they have always had a problem with mantis shrimp.
 
sduda

sduda

Member
Mantis shrimp? What does it look like and would I see him typically? I have lost some snails but I assumed that they were more of a natural die off...Maybe not so from the sound of your note. Uggh. This is really frustrating. I feel like I have read so much but still don't know a lot about this "hobby". The rock is fiji. If I can get a picture of that crab, I'll post it. I was shocked to see the thing in there and didn't think to snap a photo. So if it is a mantis shrimp, what do I need to know about them? Would he grab my fish and kill him?
 
swilbs83

swilbs83

Member
sduda a mantis shrimp is probably the worst hitchhiker you could ever have in your tank. Not only do they kill everything you put in there, but they are extremely ellusive and hard to catch. The "clicking" sound you hear is the giveaway. That is their calling card. That is the sound of them making holes in your rock to live in and banging the shells of the snails and crabs. They very rarely can be seen during the day. At night time they come out to feed. To see what it is for sure, at night, sit next to your tank with all of the lights off and put some bait(piece of shrimp) in a viewable place and play the waiting game. More than likely it will come out to feed. Do not go sticking your hands in there to try to catch it either because it will literally rip up your finger. If you can see your tank from all sides, you can try to see it with the lights on by very carefully looking for holes in the live rock. That is where it lives. Its head will be toward the top of the hole ready to kill whatever comes near it. Good luck and let us know what is going on
P.S. There are certain fish that kill mantis shrimp that you could get, and then return to the LFS. I'm not really sure what they are, but maybe some other members could fill you in. I am not a big fan of that method, because the mantis shrimp has a pretty good shot at killing dam near anything you put in there
 
reefsoe

reefsoe

Member
take a small plastik soda bottle.... chop the top off and invert it into the bottom half and drop a chunk of squid, shrimp or clam inside he will go after it, they cant pass up a meal. once inside very carfully remove the soda bottle. and you have a mantis!
another way is to watch which rock he goes into and take a turkey baster full of fresh water an shoot it into the hole. an be ready with two nets to trap him
 
sduda

sduda

Member
Hey, thanks for all the suggestions and support. I have to tell you that this little brat has been in there for 2 years and I have been dumb enough not to realize it. I feel like a total yutz for not having recognized based upon the clicking alone. I am going to give the soda bottle method a shot. If I catch him, I'll flush him! What the heck is their purpose?
 
reefsoe

reefsoe

Member
no no no dont flush him!
Ill pay for the shipping if you can ship him to me.
I've been dying for one :D
 
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thomas712

Guest
sduda - the mantis shrimp is truly an amazing creature and have some of the most amazing high tech eyes in the world, make no mistake that they are a very efficiant preditor, and the do seem to learn as the go..ie highly intelligent for a stomapod.
http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/pest.htm
Thomas
 
sduda

sduda

Member
ReefSOE - If I can catch him, I'd gladly give him to you. I'll eMail you as soon as I get him and we can work out the details.
 
reefsoe

reefsoe

Member
Keep us posted too i wanna know how the adventure goes...
I have to get a twinspot wrasse out in a few weeks
 
sduda

sduda

Member
Well I just saw the little devil. It does not look like the picture rather it really does look like a crab. This thing has got to be 1.5 inches in diameter and is furry looking. It has like 6 legs (from what I could tell). I am headed to the LFS to get some frozen "bait" so I can try to catch it. Would this guy make that "click" or "pop" noise? He has a couple of red eyes. I hope to have more for you soon.
 
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