something likes the taste of toadstool

[Madmike]

hello all,

I recently, last week purchased a toadstool leather, my first coral. I shriveled up and slimed up...but I read other threads and people said not to worry. I did worry, but yesterday it shed its slime coat and looked great! So this morning I run to the tank to see it...and it is all sucked up again...and there is a nip about the size of a dime in the side of it What gives, who likes the taste of toadstool.
Tank specs. 35 gallon hex, 40 gallon sump with 15 gallons dedicated to refugium. Water params are great, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, and nitrate 0-.2, all using salifert kits. Calcium is about 400 and alk is about 10. ph swings from 8.10 to about 8.25 daily using a pinpoint moniter.
Tank is 2&1/2 months old and has 8 large turbo snails, 10 astrea snails, about 20 nastarius snails, 8 scarlet hermits, one coral beauty angel, toadstool, and a new xenia i put in yesterday.
Also yesterday i noticed a crab had hitchhiked in the rock that the toadstool was mounted in, it is white and brown, about the size of a dime, with dots on his pinchers, then a red stripe, then a black tip on his pinchers. could this guy be snacking on my toadstool, and if so how do i catch him
thanks so much and i appologize for what now looks like a long post
mike

[wildthings44]

I can only say that I was once told to avoid crabs with black tips to thier pincers...

[aquaticsdeptleader]

sounds like an anenome crab perhaps your coral beauty has a sweet tooth

[Madmike]

it is on the edge of the fold at the top of the toadstool, do you think a little crab would feed at that point, or would a fish only be able to nip at that point. Also, i just looked as the actinics are on and the crab was coming back and went into his hole, how do i catch him, i can remove the rock and the toadstool...can i do a freshwater dip, mabee with the rock portion only? help! my first coral is being eaten...aaahhhhh
mike

[Madmike]

oh, and would a fish eat the flesh, or just the polyps?
mike

[sam]

mike, i had a blue tang that would take bites out of the top of my toadstool . i sold him back to the fish store, if i didn't my leather would still be closed up.

[Alice]

Take a look with a red covered flashlight tonight after the tank lights go out and see if you can find the cuplrit.

[Madmike]

ok, this crab is grabing stuff with his big A@@ pincher from out of his hole! how do i go about banishing this guy to the sump???
thanks
mike

[Alice]

Hey Mike;

If you can get the rock he's in out of the tank without too much trouble, you can try to flush him out using either cold SW, really salty SW, club soda or FW.

My preferred method though, is to bait them out. Get a tall, thin glass or jar, place a piece of shrimp in the bottom of the glass (rubberband it to a small rock or secure it with a dab of silicone) then at lights out, lean the glass against the rock where the crab is hiding. Don't lean it at too much of an angle though, you want the bugger to be able to get in to take the bait, but not be able to climb back out!

Crab cakes, anyone?

Good Luck!

Alice