a ugly hitchhiker

lordmbsa · 11/13/2007, 08:18 PM

hey i bought a rock from a lfs and when i put it in my tank and put on my new light i see a fussy arm climping out of the rock half way and i found out its a all brown hairy crag im thinking its bad i dont know how to kill this this it doesnt go onto the sand while light is on any ideas

msuzuki126 · 11/13/2007, 08:20 PM

Wait, what?

lordmbsa · 11/13/2007, 08:30 PM

its a all brown hairy crab srry hit the g botton

msuzuki126 · 11/13/2007, 08:37 PM

Brown hairy crab usually = bad.

lordmbsa · 11/13/2007, 08:52 PM

do u have a solution to kill this pest

msuzuki126 · 11/13/2007, 08:54 PM

Personally, I would throw it in my sump.

lordmbsa · 11/13/2007, 09:52 PM

but it hides in a 23 lb rock lol

thor32766 · 11/13/2007, 09:53 PM

yeah thats a tough place to get it from

lordmbsa · 11/13/2007, 10:02 PM

i heard you can take the rock out and spray it down with selzter water any info on it

chrissreef · 11/13/2007, 10:41 PM

"spray it down with selzter water any info on it"

- same as carbinated unflavored water? If so, I did that to 75# of rock looking for a mantis shrimp... basically every crustacean jumped from the rock and right into the bucket =) turned out I had 4-5 pistol shrimp. It doesn't take much... just quick dip or spray the spot if you know where he is. then rinse the rock/spot in salt water and return to tank.

Radioheadx14 · 11/13/2007, 10:49 PM

I have never tried this but i have heard if you take a large glass jar and prop it next to the rock and put food at the bottom... the crab will crawl in at night to eat and wont be able to make it out of the slippery glass. It's worth a try... just make sure the angle is greater that 45*
I've heard people catching crabs with in a few hours after lights out.

petoonia · 11/13/2007, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Radioheadx14
I have never tried this but i have heard if you take a large glass jar and prop it next to the rock and put food at the bottom... the crab will crawl in at night to eat and wont be able to make it out of the slippery glass. It's worth a try... just make sure the angle is greater that 45*
I've heard people catching crabs with in a few hours after lights out.

From what I've heard this seems to be the best method for catching crabs. It might take a few tries, so dont give up if you dont catch it in one night.

I would also throw the crab in my sump, or refuge.

cwilson · 11/14/2007, 08:53 AM

im not trying to be a downer, but i had to take down an entire system because of a "hairy crab" similar ot the one you are desribing. try the glass technique. although it didnt work for me, there was not much room for the glass, seeing as it was a 45H (36X12X24. terrible size IMO, but it was free), also there was even less room where the crab made his home.

every time i would buy a snail, THE NEXT DAY the snail would be dead. hermits too. it forced me to have absolutly no clean-up crew.

seriously, GET THIS CRAB OUT! if it means dismantling your entire rockwork just to get at this boulder he lives in, then do it! trust me, i would have much rather taken apart my rocks and gotten him out then 3 months later taken out every last piece of algea infested rock only to wash out the tank and put it into storage.

i would say try the glass jar method, and if that doesnt work, just yank out the rock and get him!

lordmbsa · 11/14/2007, 09:30 AM

well my clean up crew are doing fine i have a cleaner shrimp and hes still alive and thriving my rock work isnt that many peices five big pieces and acouple small peices

MSherman · 11/14/2007, 09:38 AM

I agree w/ cwilson. I had one and tried for months with the jar technique. Everything else went in it except the crab. It never worked for me. I tried luring it out with bait in an open area and tried to stab it with a home made long sharp lance. All I got was some sleepless nights and sand storms - he was too fast. I finally took the rock work apart and used carbonated water. He feel out in 15 seconds. He was in the 3rd rock so it wasn't so bad. Get him out. I gave mine to the lfs, I think he became mantis food. Good luck, a little work and one evenings stress will save you many nights of wondering what or who that guy is getting into.

plyr58 · 11/14/2007, 09:49 AM

It is probably a gorilla crab and you should get him out ASAP. He will start out eating your CUC and before long you will come down in morning and find half of a $80 fish floating in your tank.

cwilson · 11/14/2007, 01:16 PM

not trying to go on a rant here, but please get that guy out!

i finally took down the tank when i noticed a chunk of my BG chromis's tail gone. i was seriously PO'd. get him out; dont wait too long and make the same mistake i did.

mine was a gorilla crab. he was a baple white/yellow, and from leg to leg was about 3" wide! i was glad i finally cought him, and although i jsut wanted to flush him alive, i stomached my rage and went to an LFS by me. there was a large 150G aggressive display, and he threw the gorilla in there, after giving me $10 for the crab (wasnt out ot make money on him, but hey! at least he covered my gas getting him there!). i dont think he ever got eaten, i think he just comes out at night and cleans up what was once food. last time i went in, i saw one of his legs sticking out of a rock

thats their purpose: clean-up crew in very large, very aggressive tanks. if you dont have one, GIVE IT AWAY!

11/13/2007, 08:18 PM	#1
lordmbsa Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: pine hill Posts: 505	a ugly hitchhiker hey i bought a rock from a lfs and when i put it in my tank and put on my new light i see a fussy arm climping out of the rock half way and i found out its a all brown hairy crag im thinking its bad i dont know how to kill this this it doesnt go onto the sand while light is on any ideas

11/13/2007, 08:20 PM	#2
msuzuki126 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Dutchess County, New York Posts: 1,377	Wait, what? __________________ Red House=My 90 build. Matt. Current Tank Info: 90 rebuild

11/13/2007, 08:37 PM	#4
msuzuki126 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Dutchess County, New York Posts: 1,377	Brown hairy crab usually = bad. __________________ Red House=My 90 build. Matt. Current Tank Info: 90 rebuild

11/13/2007, 08:54 PM	#6
msuzuki126 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Dutchess County, New York Posts: 1,377	Personally, I would throw it in my sump. __________________ Red House=My 90 build. Matt. Current Tank Info: 90 rebuild

11/13/2007, 09:53 PM	#8
thor32766 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Chuluota, FL Posts: 6,072	yeah thats a tough place to get it from __________________ "Live your life so no one has to lie about who you were at your funeral" click on my red house to see my tang compound! Current Tank Info: 29 gallon in Wall!

11/13/2007, 08:30 PM	#3
lordmbsa Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: pine hill Posts: 505	its a all brown hairy crab srry hit the g botton

11/13/2007, 08:52 PM	#5
lordmbsa Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: pine hill Posts: 505	do u have a solution to kill this pest

11/13/2007, 09:52 PM	#7
lordmbsa Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: pine hill Posts: 505	but it hides in a 23 lb rock lol

11/13/2007, 10:02 PM	#9
lordmbsa Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: pine hill Posts: 505	i heard you can take the rock out and spray it down with selzter water any info on it

11/13/2007, 10:41 PM	#10
chrissreef Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Dallas Posts: 1,252	"spray it down with selzter water any info on it" - same as carbinated unflavored water? If so, I did that to 75# of rock looking for a mantis shrimp... basically every crustacean jumped from the rock and right into the bucket =) turned out I had 4-5 pistol shrimp. It doesn't take much... just quick dip or spray the spot if you know where he is. then rinse the rock/spot in salt water and return to tank. __________________ One's standard of living is determined by the size of their reef Learn and you continue to adapt, stop learning and you become obsolete We live with each other, not for ourselves, protect our planet Current Tank Info: 300g Starfire/Starboard A.G.E. mixed reef

11/13/2007, 10:49 PM	#11
Radioheadx14 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Columbus, OH Posts: 1,601	I have never tried this but i have heard if you take a large glass jar and prop it next to the rock and put food at the bottom... the crab will crawl in at night to eat and wont be able to make it out of the slippery glass. It's worth a try... just make sure the angle is greater that 45* I've heard people catching crabs with in a few hours after lights out.

11/14/2007, 08:53 AM	#13
cwilson Awaiting Email Confirmation Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 523	im not trying to be a downer, but i had to take down an entire system because of a "hairy crab" similar ot the one you are desribing. try the glass technique. although it didnt work for me, there was not much room for the glass, seeing as it was a 45H (36X12X24. terrible size IMO, but it was free), also there was even less room where the crab made his home. every time i would buy a snail, THE NEXT DAY the snail would be dead. hermits too. it forced me to have absolutly no clean-up crew. seriously, GET THIS CRAB OUT! if it means dismantling your entire rockwork just to get at this boulder he lives in, then do it! trust me, i would have much rather taken apart my rocks and gotten him out then 3 months later taken out every last piece of algea infested rock only to wash out the tank and put it into storage. i would say try the glass jar method, and if that doesnt work, just yank out the rock and get him!

11/14/2007, 09:30 AM	#14
lordmbsa Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: pine hill Posts: 505	well my clean up crew are doing fine i have a cleaner shrimp and hes still alive and thriving my rock work isnt that many peices five big pieces and acouple small peices

11/14/2007, 09:38 AM	#15
MSherman Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: LI, NY Posts: 97	I agree w/ cwilson. I had one and tried for months with the jar technique. Everything else went in it except the crab. It never worked for me. I tried luring it out with bait in an open area and tried to stab it with a home made long sharp lance. All I got was some sleepless nights and sand storms - he was too fast. I finally took the rock work apart and used carbonated water. He feel out in 15 seconds. He was in the 3rd rock so it wasn't so bad. Get him out. I gave mine to the lfs, I think he became mantis food. Good luck, a little work and one evenings stress will save you many nights of wondering what or who that guy is getting into.

11/14/2007, 09:49 AM	#16
plyr58 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: North Carolina Posts: 747	It is probably a gorilla crab and you should get him out ASAP. He will start out eating your CUC and before long you will come down in morning and find half of a $80 fish floating in your tank.

11/14/2007, 01:16 PM	#17
cwilson Awaiting Email Confirmation Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 523	not trying to go on a rant here, but please get that guy out! i finally took down the tank when i noticed a chunk of my BG chromis's tail gone. i was seriously PO'd. get him out; dont wait too long and make the same mistake i did. mine was a gorilla crab. he was a baple white/yellow, and from leg to leg was about 3" wide! i was glad i finally cought him, and although i jsut wanted to flush him alive, i stomached my rage and went to an LFS by me. there was a large 150G aggressive display, and he threw the gorilla in there, after giving me $10 for the crab (wasnt out ot make money on him, but hey! at least he covered my gas getting him there!). i dont think he ever got eaten, i think he just comes out at night and cleans up what was once food. last time i went in, i saw one of his legs sticking out of a rock thats their purpose: clean-up crew in very large, very aggressive tanks. if you dont have one, GIVE IT AWAY!