ARROW CRAB TERRORIZING TANK! Boney little @#$%!

Pauley Tang · 07/22/2011, 02:57 PM

Ugh, just need to vent . . .

Bought a large arrow crab a couple months ago not thinking its skinnyass could do much harm. BOY WAS I WRONG!

The first victim was a $200 - yes $200!! - spectacularly brilliant striped hog fish that was thriving and eating well at the LFS for a week prior to purchase, but dead literally within minutes of swimming past Mr. Skinny#%. A nice dinner indeed!

The second victim was a $50 baby hawk fish - introduced at the same time as victim one - who was dead an hour after Mr. Skinny#$% finished eating victim #1. A nice dessert.

The third victim was a LONG time resident blue spotted jaw fish who you'd think would be large enough to fight off Mr. Skinny - nope! Lunch.

The fourth victim was a large blood shrimp yesterday morning. Breakfast.

The fifth victim was an Anthia just last night. Late night snack.

I MUST get this fool out of my tank ASAP, but it has been challenging. I am planning to break down the tank this weekend and fish him out at last. As tempting as the Hudson River is, or the toilet which are one in the same this week, I'll probably just sump him until I can find another home for him.

Has anyone ever had one of these harmless looking creatures wreak such havoc?

I've had them before, albeit smaller, with no problems at all except that they never seemed to live very long. I thought a larger crab might be longer lived and more rugged. For what it's worth, he is not the largest I've ever seen. He's no bigger than an medium/average hand but he's still pretty large. I've got pics of his dining festivities on my phone which I'll post later, but any other advice or war stories would be appreciated.

sporto0 · 07/22/2011, 03:12 PM

They are destructive little pricks, banish him to the sump.

thegrun · 07/22/2011, 04:42 PM

They're great with a little butter...

steven11 · 07/22/2011, 05:04 PM

I have a trigger or a miniatus grouper that can show him what's up.

Sorry for you loses. That really sucks. I had a crab come in on some live rock. I baited him out with some food and skewered his *** the first chance I got with a double prong bbq skewer.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

RadReefer · 07/22/2011, 06:23 PM

Hahaha awesome skewer idea...

reefcleaners · 07/22/2011, 06:43 PM

they are good in frag tanks because they will eat nuisance worms, if you haev a buddy with a frag tank with no fish you can probably find it a home there.

snorvich · 07/22/2011, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reefcleaners

they are good in frag tanks because they will eat nuisance worms, if you haev a buddy with a frag tank with no fish you can probably find it a home there.

True. My recollection is that they eat bristle worms which is not a good thing.

chris s · 07/22/2011, 08:11 PM

any crab can be a problem. i had an emerald crab take out 3 anthias and a diamond goby.

PokerReefer · 07/22/2011, 08:11 PM

They are definitely not reef safe. Eat tube worms and beificial fauna. F- him skewer him !

07/22/2011, 02:57 PM	#1
Pauley Tang Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: New York, NY Posts: 189	ARROW CRAB TERRORIZING TANK! Boney little @#$%! Ugh, just need to vent . . . Bought a large arrow crab a couple months ago not thinking its skinnyass could do much harm. BOY WAS I WRONG! The first victim was a $200 - yes $200!! - spectacularly brilliant striped hog fish that was thriving and eating well at the LFS for a week prior to purchase, but dead literally within minutes of swimming past Mr. Skinny#%. A nice dinner indeed! The second victim was a $50 baby hawk fish - introduced at the same time as victim one - who was dead an hour after Mr. Skinny#$% finished eating victim #1. A nice dessert. The third victim was a LONG time resident blue spotted jaw fish who you'd think would be large enough to fight off Mr. Skinny - nope! Lunch. The fourth victim was a large blood shrimp yesterday morning. Breakfast. The fifth victim was an Anthia just last night. Late night snack. I MUST get this fool out of my tank ASAP, but it has been challenging. I am planning to break down the tank this weekend and fish him out at last. As tempting as the Hudson River is, or the toilet which are one in the same this week, I'll probably just sump him until I can find another home for him. Has anyone ever had one of these harmless looking creatures wreak such havoc? I've had them before, albeit smaller, with no problems at all except that they never seemed to live very long. I thought a larger crab might be longer lived and more rugged. For what it's worth, he is not the largest I've ever seen. He's no bigger than an medium/average hand but he's still pretty large. I've got pics of his dining festivities on my phone which I'll post later, but any other advice or war stories would be appreciated. __________________ Pauley Current Tank Info: 2 reef tanks

07/22/2011, 03:12 PM	#2
sporto0 Moved On Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Pittsburgh, Pa. Posts: 2,924	They are destructive little pricks, banish him to the sump.

07/22/2011, 04:42 PM	#3
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	They're great with a little butter...

07/22/2011, 05:04 PM	#4
steven11 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Renton, Wa Posts: 25	I have a trigger or a miniatus grouper that can show him what's up. Sorry for you loses. That really sucks. I had a crab come in on some live rock. I baited him out with some food and skewered his *** the first chance I got with a double prong bbq skewer. Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

07/22/2011, 06:23 PM	#5
RadReefer Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 185	Hahaha awesome skewer idea...

07/22/2011, 06:43 PM	#6
reefcleaners .Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 87	they are good in frag tanks because they will eat nuisance worms, if you haev a buddy with a frag tank with no fish you can probably find it a home there.

07/22/2011, 08:11 PM	#8
chris s Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Douglasville, Ga Posts: 94	any crab can be a problem. i had an emerald crab take out 3 anthias and a diamond goby.

07/22/2011, 08:11 PM	#9
PokerReefer Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Modesto,CA. Posts: 309	They are definitely not reef safe. Eat tube worms and beificial fauna. F- him skewer him !