emerald crab?

sully6956 · 06/09/2009, 03:34 PM

Hey everyone,

I bought an emerald crab about a year ago and have rarely seen it since. Recently i've noticed a crab that looks much different than the one I puurchased. It is brown with black claws, has the emerald crab changed color or is this possibly a gorilla/ stone crab? Thanks for the help.

muddysr5 · 06/09/2009, 03:46 PM

I have the same story..I put an emerald in my 300 several months ago and haven't seen it since. I was told most likely it is hiding out in the crevices of the live rock and I probably won't ever see it again.

Have you added anything that this new "gorilla/stone crab" could have hitchhiked in on? (i.e. liverock?)

knoxtnreef · 06/09/2009, 03:50 PM

i put a porcelin crab in my tank and never see it either. I'm bare bottom too~~~~!!!!

muddysr5 · 06/09/2009, 03:51 PM

darn crevices in the liverock! i was told that crabs are nocturnal and they only come out at night.

blazing · 06/09/2009, 04:48 PM

the same thing happend to me too. i bought an emerald about a month or 2 ago. for the first month i never seen him and though he died but then one day i saw him in a lil hole in my rock. but recently i have seen him a few tims in the front of my tank only at night thoug.

brad2157 · 06/09/2009, 05:19 PM

I can usually see my emerald at night with a flashlight in my 120g if I look for a few minutes. He usually stays hid all day though, and my peppermint shrimps hide alot too.

jlt232000 · 06/09/2009, 07:03 PM

I hardly see my emeralds iether. They camoflauge so well in the rock. When i do see them its at night when lights are off.

KarlBob · 06/09/2009, 07:11 PM

If a crab is green when you put it in the tank, it should stay green. If your water quality isn't great, you may see some bleaching, but green crabs don't turn into brown crabs. I think the brown one is a hitchhiker.

Aqua Life Aaron · 06/09/2009, 07:36 PM

It's not your long-lost emerald crab, it's definately a stone crab. Try to get it out if you can. They tend to knock over rocks and corals and will catch and eat other reef animals if they get the opportunity.

acrouse · 06/09/2009, 10:02 PM

I would agree that what you are describing-is not your emerald crab-but a hitchhiker crab. I would try and set up a trap and catch it.(the pop bottle trap worked well for us). You may even draw out your emerald crab if its still in you tank.

I saw new hitchhiker crabs in my 125 gallon the first 2 years of set up. Had to trap out 4 of them as they were the gorilla crabs
(after they wiped out most of my snail and hermit population).

Good luck
jolene

Tswifty · 06/09/2009, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sully6956
Recently i've noticed a crab that looks much different than the one I puurchased. It is brown with black claws, has the emerald crab changed color or is this possibly a gorilla/ stone crab?

That's a gorilla crab... bad hitchhiker... Get it out.

sully6956 · 06/10/2009, 07:24 PM

Thanks everyone, now to get it out. haha

tipmoff · 06/10/2009, 07:34 PM

Use the glass in the tank trick. Put a piece of raw fish or shrip in the glass and place it in the tank against a LR. You should see it in there sometime later that noghtor in the morning. Make sure the glass is kind of tall. It can;t crawl up the glass. Worked great for me 3 nights in a row.

cardiffgiant · 06/10/2009, 08:37 PM

I had one emerald crab that was active and frequently moved about with the lights on. All of the others have fairly shy.

06/09/2009, 03:34 PM	#1
sully6956 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 52	emerald crab? Hey everyone, I bought an emerald crab about a year ago and have rarely seen it since. Recently i've noticed a crab that looks much different than the one I puurchased. It is brown with black claws, has the emerald crab changed color or is this possibly a gorilla/ stone crab? Thanks for the help.

06/09/2009, 03:46 PM	#2
muddysr5 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Crystal Lake, IL Posts: 207	I have the same story..I put an emerald in my 300 several months ago and haven't seen it since. I was told most likely it is hiding out in the crevices of the live rock and I probably won't ever see it again. Have you added anything that this new "gorilla/stone crab" could have hitchhiked in on? (i.e. liverock?) __________________ Hindsight is 20/20. Current Tank Info: 300 gal, 125 gal, 125 sump

06/09/2009, 03:51 PM	#4
muddysr5 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Crystal Lake, IL Posts: 207	darn crevices in the liverock! i was told that crabs are nocturnal and they only come out at night. __________________ Hindsight is 20/20. Current Tank Info: 300 gal, 125 gal, 125 sump

06/09/2009, 07:11 PM	#8
KarlBob Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Laveen, AZ Posts: 2,309	If a crab is green when you put it in the tank, it should stay green. If your water quality isn't great, you may see some bleaching, but green crabs don't turn into brown crabs. I think the brown one is a hitchhiker. __________________ Later, KarlBob Current Tank Info: No tanks for now. Starting over in Austin sometime next year.

06/10/2009, 07:34 PM	#13
tipmoff Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Palm Harbor, FL Posts: 430	Use the glass in the tank trick. Put a piece of raw fish or shrip in the glass and place it in the tank against a LR. You should see it in there sometime later that noghtor in the morning. Make sure the glass is kind of tall. It can;t crawl up the glass. Worked great for me 3 nights in a row. __________________ "When I was a boy the Dead Sea was only sick. ." Member T.B.R.C. Current Tank Info: 75 Gallon Mixed Reef

06/09/2009, 03:50 PM	#3
knoxtnreef Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Savannah, GA Posts: 524	i put a porcelin crab in my tank and never see it either. I'm bare bottom too~~~~!!!!

06/09/2009, 04:48 PM	#5
blazing Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: yay area Posts: 625	the same thing happend to me too. i bought an emerald about a month or 2 ago. for the first month i never seen him and though he died but then one day i saw him in a lil hole in my rock. but recently i have seen him a few tims in the front of my tank only at night thoug.

06/09/2009, 05:19 PM	#6
brad2157 Registered Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Pleasant View, TN Posts: 112	I can usually see my emerald at night with a flashlight in my 120g if I look for a few minutes. He usually stays hid all day though, and my peppermint shrimps hide alot too.

06/09/2009, 07:03 PM	#7
jlt232000 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 82	I hardly see my emeralds iether. They camoflauge so well in the rock. When i do see them its at night when lights are off.

06/09/2009, 07:36 PM	#9
Aqua Life Aaron Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 4	It's not your long-lost emerald crab, it's definately a stone crab. Try to get it out if you can. They tend to knock over rocks and corals and will catch and eat other reef animals if they get the opportunity.

06/09/2009, 10:02 PM	#10
acrouse Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Ackworth Posts: 473	I would agree that what you are describing-is not your emerald crab-but a hitchhiker crab. I would try and set up a trap and catch it.(the pop bottle trap worked well for us). You may even draw out your emerald crab if its still in you tank. I saw new hitchhiker crabs in my 125 gallon the first 2 years of set up. Had to trap out 4 of them as they were the gorilla crabs (after they wiped out most of my snail and hermit population). Good luck jolene

06/10/2009, 07:24 PM	#12
sully6956 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 52	Thanks everyone, now to get it out. haha

06/10/2009, 08:37 PM	#14
cardiffgiant Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Tampa Posts: 3,455	I had one emerald crab that was active and frequently moved about with the lights on. All of the others have fairly shy.