Crabs wreaking havoc

[tempogen]

It took me way too much time to realize that the numerous crabs i have in my reef tank are actually sinister predators. a while back i lost a cleaner shrimp, i found only his head stuffed in one of the corals
i didn't suspect the freaking crabs because the person i got them from told me they were harmless, so i thought there was probably some other predator lurking in the darkness. last night i found one of the crabs with a huge chunk of my poor hermit crab - who is still alive for the moment - and that removed any doubts i had about them being predators. I'm thinking about using the " glass method " described in an older thread, i have around 5 crabs of the sinister type, and two little ones of a different type. what should i do about the hermit crab? i think he lost a bunch of legs and a pincer from one side, and so i think he'll have a really difficult time moving around, and i fear he might not live for long.
any suggestions, questions, and words of condolences are welcome !

[ChrisPrusha]

Sorry for your losses.

I wonder if you are talking about common stone crabs that come in on LR. They often have hairy legs and fairly large claws.

Any chance of a pic?

As for the hermit, I am softie...consider putting him in a relatively safe place if you can and make sure he gets food...his next molt might fix him up just fine!

[tempogen]

they molt ?? i just figured he changes his shell every now and then, and i can tell when he needs a new shell. recently he was scampering around the tank and i could feel he's agitated, so i got a collection of slightly larger shells, which he examined very slowly flipping each and every one, tapping gently, examining the inside, it was very thrilling to watch. back to the subject though, the crabs do have hairy legs, and brown with um.. here are some pix, they aren't much - took em with my Cell - but one of them shows the back of the critter and one is supposed to show the claws, don't worry i didn't hurt it it apparently is a she, cause it was loaded with eggs. hope these are clear enough to at least asess the risk. by the way, i think my hermit was not so hurt

[ChrisPrusha]

Looks like one of the many varieties of common stone crab. I have a few in my 180 that have developed a taste for flake food. If you have a sump, you might want to consider putting him in there.

[jenajet]

Yep not big on hermits or crabs anymore. I banished my hermit to the sump long ago. He had plenty of shells but still would rip every single snail I would get right out of their shell, try it on, then move back to his shell! I have some of the small cleaner hermits in my smaller tank but they cant take on my mexican turbo's unlike there bigger cousin I call Demon. He's lucky he didnt become crab on a hot tin roof.

[frankandmaura]

Originally Posted by tempogen

It took me way too much time to realize that the numerous crabs i have in my reef tank are actually sinister predators. a while back i lost a cleaner shrimp, i found only his head stuffed in one of the corals
i didn't suspect the freaking crabs because the person i got them from told me they were harmless, so i thought there was probably some other predator lurking in the darkness. last night i found one of the crabs with a huge chunk of my poor hermit crab - who is still alive for the moment - and that removed any doubts i had about them being predators. I'm thinking about using the " glass method " described in an older thread, i have around 5 crabs of the sinister type, and two little ones of a different type. what should i do about the hermit crab? i think he lost a bunch of legs and a pincer from one side, and so i think he'll have a really difficult time moving around, and i fear he might not live for long.
any suggestions, questions, and words of condolences are welcome !

If you want to save your hermit, try putting him in the sump so he can repair himself. Or, if you get rid of the others (put them in the sump) he should be fine in your display tank.