sally lightfoot crabs... what do they eat?

[luvzz2play]

what do sally lightfoot crabs eat? algae only? corals? bristleworms? other worms? fish? other crabs? snails?

[gone fishin]

mine ate anything that got close including some fish. they are nearly impossible to remove. I eventually broke my tank down to get him out. just my 2 cents

[luvzz2play]

not what i was looking to hear... lol

[gone fishin]

Sorry, that crab was probaly the single worst thing I ever put in my tank.

[TL1000RSquid]

Yeah Sally's can be a real PITA as they grow and will eat anything they can catch. In fact awhile ago I was up late watching Nat Geo or Animal Planet and they showed one trying to eat baby penguins lol.

I've had good luck with Emerald, Porcelin and PomPom crabs not bothering any other tankmates if you're looking for some sort of crab to add.

[luvzz2play]

best way to catch one in a 75g for removal? easiest? quickest?

[gone fishin]

wish I could offer a surefire way. maybe try a shrimp or clam in a trap. but I eventually ended up removing most of my rock to get the quick bugger.

[Whisperer]

My Sally has grown big. She is not aggressive at all. She will throw a jab when a fish swims by but I think it is just reflex to defend from a predator. She never purposely hunt for prey. My mandarin swims close to her and she just walks away. She eats algae on the rocks all day. I have a coral banded shrimp also, they keep a good distance between them.

[luvzz2play]

ok... so i hear mixed reviews. just going to depend on what they get a taste for maybe huh? since im got a DSB i didnt want it hunting any of the critters that bought for that and my other concern would be gnoshing on a coral

[phillyfishguy]

I made that mistake thinking its hit or miss. Never again, I had to spear that thing at night. They get nasty.

[cheezischrist]

mine got removed from my reef at 6" and i realized it was the culprit behind missing fish when i seen it grab my diamond goby. put it into my lions tank, where it relentlessly harassed the poor lionfish, ruining its fins. i eventually caught him with a cocktail shrimp in a spagheti jar standing straight up ext to a rock. exiled to the sump, where he became a nuisance moving things andthe tricky bastard made his way back into the lions tank directly above it. went back to lfs who wanted nothing to do with one that big, and ended up being food for a really big puffer.....never again. and my coral banded shrimp is the next tennant to be evicted from my reef, also turning into a fish taster and suspect for a few missing smaller fish now.

[rossco838]

I had 2 in my 220.. Puffers played tug of war with them. Puffers 2 crab 0

Sent from my galaxy S3 using my fingers

[luvzz2play]

hmmm... wel, i guess i'll have to see about taking him back as i just got him yesterday... glass jar standing up sounds like the ticket

[luvzz2play]

so i've got the glass jar with sloping sides but no shrimp for bait... suggestions?

[phillyfishguy]

Good luck!

[sporto0]

The question is: what WON'T they eat. Terrible reef inhabitants & hard to catch, sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear.

[Sk8r]

Tilted wine carafe, baited, left overnight: they can't climb out once they get in.

[tst400]

Mine really enjoyed my clown tang... They will eat anything they can catch.... Oh yea they are fast!

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

[luvzz2play]

ok.... day (night) 1 ... mason jar leaned on live rock and baited....

score....
chad 0
sally 0

[mtaquarist]

Good luck!

[acrab78]

Seems like most crabs other than hermits are either bad or hit or miss/ie soon to be bad.
Too bad crabs are awesome. Seems like the emeralds have the best track history...

[luvzz2play]

So last night was round one.

I had my game face on sure of success. all the necessary elements of a victory were in hand. I was determined, well informed, well equipped with trap and bait. i knew my foe well. I have trained for this day and it is MY TANK!! NOT HERS!! The hunt begins

In the other corner, the picture of innocence but with a long long line of family violence.. mutilations and mysterious disappearances. Random acts of violence... fins mangled, fish dying, corals trampled on and ripped up. Her family, a family of opportunistic defilers of beauty. The whole time she's telling me that she's not like the rest of her family.. she would never do that to me, that she is different.. she had lulled me to sleep of the dangers with her siren's call and beauty. Graceful and sleek. Lightfooted and quick... Meet Sally. Fooled by her assurances that she is peaceful. I am awake now and it is not too late!

I must strike quickly and surely. My tank is still new. Less than 3 months old with no fish yet to terrorize. A few hermits, snails, micro stars and an emerald. 2 zoa frags that were destined to die but were donated to me and are showing signs of improvement. A thought to be dead chalice on a piece of live rock that now is growing back.

My foe i knew was wary and i walk expectantly to my tank this morning hoping to see Sally wriggling in the jar.... instead i see a small hermit crab that she had tossed out first to test the trap. He too was fooled by her beauty and fallen victim to her guile. He struggled at the bottom of the jar while she stood perched 3" away on a rock peering in at him gnoshing on some algae. "see?" she says. "I eat algae. Look what that hermit crab has... MEAT. He likes meat. Get rid of him" and when i reached in to grab the jar she scooted out of sight....

chad 0
Sally 1

[gone fishin]

LOL As long as you can keep your sense of humor Sally doesn't stand a chance. Besides you have thumbs you have to win. No pressure.