Question about arco crab

Stevendietzel · 02-04-2006, 06:37 PM

I recently bought this acro and just noticed that is a small crab in it. I don't really know anything about them and didn't know if they were bad or good. any info would help thanks. below is a bad picture of it. sorry have no zoom so I can't get a good picture. it is the tan thing in the middle
[IMG]file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Steven%20Dietzel/My%20Documents/My%20Pictures/test.JPG[/IMG]

Stevendietzel · 02-04-2006, 06:38 PM

Stevendietzel · 02-04-2006, 06:58 PM

Stevendietzel · 02-04-2006, 06:59 PM

I took him out and this is the best picture that I could get. he is very tiny about the size of a pea. he is somewhat hairy and a tanish brown color. anyone have any advice? and can these live in stony or only acro's?

Stevendietzel · 02-04-2006, 09:50 PM

Bump anyone had any experience with a crab like this before?

tdwyatt · 02-04-2006, 10:32 PM

Sorry, I would have thought someone else would have responded by now. These crabs are usually found in Acro colonies and are thought to feed on the parasites and any epiphytes that attach to the mucus of the corallium. They usually will eat any red bugs that show up, but this is not to say that they are an adequate treatment for these parasites. With a few exceptions, they do not get very big in reef aquaria under closed system conditions. I think I have around 20 in the stony display tank, prolly more that I cannot see. Biggest problem with growing colonies from frags is that you quickly outnumber the quantity of crabs with full sized coral colonies. I have on many occasions offerred to search the colonies of incoming wild colonies at a few LFS to attempt aquisition of these crabs, and will be glad to take yours if you do not want it in the system. The colonies you get with these crabs should be considered "Corals with benefits"...

Several different genera snd species of thes crabs, I need to make myself do some background on them.