Crabs Are Evil Society
- Thread starter Witfull
- Start date
if I saw it in my tank! 
Mike Johnson
Well-Known Member
I know, I did my best at watching it for a long time. Every morning I expected to look upon a completely devastated tank. The bright red eyes makes it look even more of a menace. The one in my big tank died of old age and immediately I have bubble algae popping up. I'm going to try to catch the one I put in the other tank and put it in there. It is very hard to catch since it only eats algae. It would knock things over at night that weren't nailed down, though.
I have never been able to identify it and, believe me, I've spent many hours trying to do so. I've put out posts, even offering good money, to find a female. I had two males.
I have never been able to identify it and, believe me, I've spent many hours trying to do so. I've put out posts, even offering good money, to find a female. I had two males.
Crabs aren't evil, they're just misunderstood and can be very entertaining.
I think if you keep the crabs fed to their liking, then you are probably over feeding your tank. If you don't keep them fed to their liking....they will eat what they can catch & KILL. So, it's a "catchy" situation. I like CUC that excludes crabs for that reason.
Great picture FatBoba
crabs do take shells that don't belong to them after they eat who they did belong to 
Great picture FatBoba
crabs do take shells that don't belong to them after they eat who they did belong to David Shaw
Well-Known Member
I don't like 'em myself. Each to their own but i ain' ever putting one in my tank. Took long enough to get 2 rogue hitchhiker ones out that managed to survive a coral dip.
The final one killed off several fish before i nailed him, and I whooped for joy when it eventually got caught and removed.
The final one killed off several fish before i nailed him, and I whooped for joy when it eventually got caught and removed.
SenseiSays
Member
This is Casper. He likes to knock over my Purple Hornets EVERYDAY. He is invisible to any human being and this morning I saw him for the first time since I put him in 4 months ago. I turned away for one second to turn off my skimmer so I could grab him and GONE haha I will catch him one day, or my Mystery Wrasse will ;]
Do i get in the crabs are evil society ;] haha
Do i get in the crabs are evil society ;] haha
I'm going to try them again; just never seem to have enough food for them.
That's the reason I don't put crabs in my tank, if you don't over feed your tank (which is not good) then they will eat things you don't want them to touch. I might (maybe?) add one to my sump/refugium when I get it installed.
I think the emerald crabs are cool looking.
Really late to the party and I don't feel like reading any other post except for the one above
I'm wondering if this is why I can't get coraline to grow in my tank? I see the hermits nipping at all the rocks. I had to give the emerald away too
37 gallon, LEDs, fish and coral
I'm wondering if this is why I can't get coraline to grow in my tank? I see the hermits nipping at all the rocks. I had to give the emerald away too
37 gallon, LEDs, fish and coral
Mike Johnson
Well-Known Member
I do not know of any crab that eats coralline algae.
Tarantulady
New Member
I have a 20 long in my walk-in closet, with no lights. It is called Crab Prison. There is one large crab (4" and growing quickly) that can run fast upside-down while hanging. He likes to throw things everywhere for no apparent reason, going so far as to create square-shaped structures with rubble. I won't call him evil but I will say that he is a repeat scariness offender.
I also have a black gorilla crab with red eyes and his name is Satanic Enemy Crab. He lives in my reef, but he is shy. He is afraid of skunk cleaner shrimp and sexy shrimp. He looks kind of like a black emerald crab. I want to be in this club because it's hilarious to me.
I also have a black gorilla crab with red eyes and his name is Satanic Enemy Crab. He lives in my reef, but he is shy. He is afraid of skunk cleaner shrimp and sexy shrimp. He looks kind of like a black emerald crab. I want to be in this club because it's hilarious to me.
You need to consider that this thread is the opinion of the people posting on it. While I'd not go as far as to say all crabs are evil, outside of hermit crabs and maybe emerald crabs, most of them have no place is a reef system.
If you are going to keep a crab because you like it, that's fine, but given the chance most crabs will feed in anything they can. This includes your fish, other inverts, corals and clams. Over the years I've removed a lot of gorilla crabs from my system. I've also had arrowhead crabs destroy small colonies of tube worms. Needless to say, except for hermits, I'm not a big crab fan.
If you are going to keep a crab because you like it, that's fine, but given the chance most crabs will feed in anything they can. This includes your fish, other inverts, corals and clams. Over the years I've removed a lot of gorilla crabs from my system. I've also had arrowhead crabs destroy small colonies of tube worms. Needless to say, except for hermits, I'm not a big crab fan.
After saying I wouldn't put a crab in my tank (post #391 above^)...I have since then bought & turned loose TWO tiny Emerald Crabs. I think they are really cute, they haven't harmed anything (YET! :fingerx that I know of.
They have not touched any GBA either. I've kept the GBA under control manually. And I do have the option at any time to snatch them out & make their new home in my refugium. Options are NICE
that I know of. They have not touched any GBA either. I've kept the GBA under control manually. And I do have the option at any time to snatch them out & make their new home in my refugium. Options are NICE
