Acro Crab Good Or Bad!!
- Thread starter Cibo
- Start date
a true acro crab is good and bad they will keep pests off but will also hinder polyp extention. some crabs like gorilla crabs when small actually slick back their hairs and prtend to be an acro crab, they do this so you think its cute and they get away with eating the flesh of the acro.
alittle more info:
Chances are that the crab you have found will not be a problem. Crabs found in heads of SPS corals are usually of the Family Xanthidae. They are typically commensals which sometimes protect the coral from predatory fish or invertebrates. However, all of these crabs should be watched carefully as not all of the Xanthids are harmless - see below. Trapezia sp. (Family Trapeziidae) is usually found in Pocilloporadae while species such as Tetralia and Domecia (Family Xanthidae) are the typical residents of Acroporidae.(Delbeek and Sprung The Reef Aquarium, Vol. II, pg. 324). In the experience of the author and other reefkeepers that the author has conversed with, hairy brown crabs imported in SPS colonies tend to be harmful rather than commensal, while the tan, smooth shelled crabs like the one in the above picture are peaceful, well-behaved residents.
alittle more info:
Chances are that the crab you have found will not be a problem. Crabs found in heads of SPS corals are usually of the Family Xanthidae. They are typically commensals which sometimes protect the coral from predatory fish or invertebrates. However, all of these crabs should be watched carefully as not all of the Xanthids are harmless - see below. Trapezia sp. (Family Trapeziidae) is usually found in Pocilloporadae while species such as Tetralia and Domecia (Family Xanthidae) are the typical residents of Acroporidae.(Delbeek and Sprung The Reef Aquarium, Vol. II, pg. 324). In the experience of the author and other reefkeepers that the author has conversed with, hairy brown crabs imported in SPS colonies tend to be harmful rather than commensal, while the tan, smooth shelled crabs like the one in the above picture are peaceful, well-behaved residents.
- Location
- Flushing, NY
Your description seems like an acro crab.
You can look on Live Aquaria too for pics
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+501+2914&pcatid=2914
If it has black tip claws, its probably a gorilla crab
You can look on Live Aquaria too for pics
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+501+2914&pcatid=2914
If it has black tip claws, its probably a gorilla crab
- Location
- LONG ISLAND NEW YORK
uh ohhhh.... I actually bought 2 acro crabs from the LFS yesterday and both were white with some hairs and had black tipped claws. I saw them hiding in some acro colonies. He assured me that they were reef safe and figured he was telling the truth because they had been in the same colonies for weeks and he could've easily gotten rid of them.
- Location
- FREEPORT,LONG ISLAND
Same here had them for 3 months and not a problem just want to know how they eat
- Location
- westchester ny
every acro colony Ive ever had has come with a crab in it. Most are white or pinkish with smooth shells. The one in my birds nest is pink with purple dots so hes perfectly comflauged in that coral. None of them seem to effect polyp extension, if anything I think they help by removing any stray particles that fall into the coral or slime they produce. It wouldnt suprise me if they ate flatworms or redbugs either, but I dont really know cus I dont have that crap in my tank (maybe its because of the crabs...lol)
- Location
- Long Island
i have tons of the white ones with the ninja masks lol. they didn't effect polyp extension that much. alot of the aquacultured frags from aquahut usually have some in them.
- Location
- Hudson Yards
This is a good crab. They are symbiotic critters meaning that both they and the coral get something out of the relationship.
The most frequently seen acro crabs (some species also like seriatapora and pocillipora corals) are pinkish-purple, pinkish-red, white or white with a little black mask across the eyes. I wouldn't rely on the black-tipped claws assertion to determine if a crab in a coral is bad or not.
The majority of acro crabs are rather small and similar in size to a Pom-Pom crab. The biggest I've seen was no larger than a penny.
If you do a Google images search for Trapezia crab, Tetralia crab, acropora crab and acro crab you will find many different photos.
BTW, a fuzzy crab isn't always a bad crab either. Mithrax crabs are great algae eaters and they have fuzzy legs.
The most frequently seen acro crabs (some species also like seriatapora and pocillipora corals) are pinkish-purple, pinkish-red, white or white with a little black mask across the eyes. I wouldn't rely on the black-tipped claws assertion to determine if a crab in a coral is bad or not.
The majority of acro crabs are rather small and similar in size to a Pom-Pom crab. The biggest I've seen was no larger than a penny.
If you do a Google images search for Trapezia crab, Tetralia crab, acropora crab and acro crab you will find many different photos.
BTW, a fuzzy crab isn't always a bad crab either. Mithrax crabs are great algae eaters and they have fuzzy legs.
- Location
- michigan
where can you buy these guys , i have had AEFW and all my acros got hit some lightly others close to total destruction but the one purple acro i have got nothing no hits not one bite and guess what it is the only one with the hosting crab he protects it nice wish i had more of them but where can we get them? i would buy 10 easily
mandarin13
Experienced Reefer
- Location
- long island
liveaquairia.com
- Location
- michigan
- Location
- Flushing, NY
Only time I saw an acro crab walk away from the acro is when the acro is too small or too little branches for them to hide in.
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