Help!!! Ive got crabs

[rtheilman]

Now that I have your attention. I bought an emerald crab and a red crab that looks exactly like the emerald. I put them in my 55gal reef tank and later saw the red crab picking at my Duncans. (I couldn't tell if he was ripping the duncans or trying to get some algae off them). I moved the Duncan and the next day he was sitting under my 7 head Australian Duncan. He didn't pick at them, and my other duncans seem fine. Today he was picking at my GSP or something on it. Am I crazy, am I not feeding regularly enough, or should he just go. I have $$$$ in coral that I don't want eaten, but he is pretty cool, the emerald crab is fine. Any help would be great.

 

[thanh386]

I posted in another post. Some emerald crabs will go after LPS or mushroom, anything fleshy. Need to remove them and QT them so they eat other things. Tss them back in and they'll wont touch your coral sgsin. Worked fr me

 

[flake]

I had a "purple emerald crab" for a while. Looked just like an emerald crab, turned out it was a rock crab when I caught it, destroyed every polyp I put in my tank.

 

[rtheilman]

So put them in my sump with my rocks? And them pit them back after a while?

 

[swampchamp]

that could work..

 

[raz0945]

My emerald crabs do great in my tanks, they pick the algea and extra food off the corals and the frag racks. I have never seen them cause damage, other then knock a coral over. I perfer the females they stay smaller. I do feed heavier than most people and I do weekly water changes because of it!

 

[rdnelson]

I have never seen my 3 emeralds pic at any corals although they are like bulls in a china shop.

 

[rtheilman]

Thanks for all the good help. The red crab is currently hiding under my 6 head frogspawn. He isn't eating it though. I may put him on sump duty and I also like the idea of feeding a bit more heavy and changing my h20 more often. Thanks again, please close=D

 

[oil_fan]

I've had emerald crabs over the years and the only thing they went after was yellow polyps. But they just LOVED them. Besides that, they've never went after anything else. That other crab you have, I've never had any dealings with.