Crabs and coral???

[AreUaBadFish2]

Whats your thoughts on having crabs while having corals in your tank? Do you think its a hit and miss or is it totally unsafe?

 

[Waleedwale1]

What type of crabs? I have a Sally light foot and emeralds in my reef.

 

[bkstang]

They may and will bother some zoas, walk over them, etc. Other corals are pretty safe. I would be more worried about having shrimps+corals.

 

[reefs4life]

I would be more worried about having shrimps+corals.

Why do you say shrimp and coral?

 

[AreUaBadFish2]

Why shrimp? I dont ever remember hearing or seeing shrimp messing with coral

 

[AreUaBadFish2]

They are rock crabs

 

[oh207]

IME, crabs don't generally bother corals aside from walking over them. The only problem I have with hermit crabs is that they kill and eat all my snails.
Shrimps on the other hand, especially peppermint shrimps, are known to go after corals and will eat and destroy some. I've had several peppermint and have had this happen to me with a frogspawn, but the ones I have now are model citizens and they spawn regularly. Its a hit or miss with them.

 

[bkstang]

Why do you say shrimp and coral?

Yes, Peppermints Shrimps. I had several and finally I decided to get rid of them. Whenever I bough a frag of hammer or frogspawn they were pulling tentacles out of it and destroying them. They had a problem with mu Duncan as well. I'm not the only one who reported it although it is hit and miss as someone mentioned.

 

[Dan_P]

Check out this article

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/12/inverts

I came across this while gathering information on whether crabs in general prey on fish

 

[AreUaBadFish2]

[No message]

 

[AreUaBadFish2]

Thank you that article helped me out alot. Thumbs up

 

[BAD FISH]

really? I had a stone crab in my tank he hitchhicked in and was really hard to catch him.he ate zoas, pinched em right off and scurried awy

 

[reefer4eva]

Never again will a peppermint shrimp get in my tank..I had one that ate my carnation pink with rasberry spot yuma(extremely rare)my sunset millipora chewed up also!such a shame that people buy them for aiptasia and end up loosing half there corals instead

 

[Reef lover24]

Been tagging along on this post and that article posted by Dan was a great read learning about different crabs, always was skeptical about getting one and I wont now lol. As far as the peppermints go I keep them in a tank with just live rock and anenomes so I have nothing to worry about, they are cool looking that's for sure!

 

[Waleedwale1]

By any chance do any of these non reef safe peppermint a have a hump on tier backs? If so they might be camel shrimp, very similar to peppermint but non reef safe. Idk all of my peppermints are reef safe.

 

[AreUaBadFish2]

The peppermint and camel backs do look very similar.

 

[Waleedwale1]

The peppermint and camel backs do look very similar.

I'm thinking that's what it is, evens suppliers mix them up sometimes.