a crab proof algae eater

[schulz1616]

I recently bought a decorator hermit crab, one of my most favorite investments in my fish tank. He's a thrill to watch and he's always doing something funny. Except I do not find it funny how he has killed and eaten 9 of my 12 turbo snails. I guess I don't mind the fact that he's eaten them so much, they are pretty cheap, but my algae is really beginning to bloom in the tank now. I feed my crab once a day to try to keep his appetite under control, but to no avail. Is there any algae eater that you know of that might be crab proof? Things to consider: I have soft corals, I plan on getting hard corals and anemones, I have a mandarin, blenny, damselfish, and will be getting a pair of false perculas soon.

Thanks

[Alice]

Snails really are the best bet for mowing down algae. Fish are kind of hit and miss at it, unless you have a big herbivore, but they still won't keep the glass clean like snails will. Evidently, your crab has developed the taste for snails, let's hope he doesn't develop a taste for other things in the tank!

Your best bet may be to set up a small tank just for your decorator crab. You won't need fancy lighting, just a small tank, some sand, a couple of pieces of live rock and some SW. You could use a small FW set up.

Just my $.02

Alice

[GSM]

How bout a couple urchins?

[DAN THE MAN]

Not only will most urchins eat up your coraline but they are frequintly knocking things over. It's like having a bulldozer in a china shop. You'll keep picking up those corals.

[schulz1616]

Thanks all of you for your replies. I would like some more suggestions because I would really like to keep my crab in my 35 gal. aquarium and I don't want an urchin to be knocking around my aquascaping. Can you rack your brains for any other ideas?

Thanks