Emerald Crab

[Daggnabit]

Thoughts and experience on these guys for a 24g tank please. Thank you guys in advance.

 

[tbone212371]

Excellent scavengers...
I had them in a 29 gal and 75 gal...
They never ate any bubble algae..
But are great at picking at rocks.....

 

[Hawkeye]

I guess I'll give the other opinion (which I believe to be the minority one) - I don't care for crabs. I only have a handful of hermits from macna because my girls wanted them (and they were free from coral morphologic). As they got large I drop them into my sump. I think I might have one hermit crab left in the display.

If you plan on feeding corals (like acans or sun corals) you will potentially need to either heavily feed the crabs first or allow them to rip food out of the corals. Personally I go without crabs - but that's me.

 

[JRWOHLER]

I would say I like emerald crabs better then hermits. They are useful but Hawkeye points out some pitfalls ... also make sure you get the emerald mithrax crab not some other "emerald crab" there are plenty of horror stories where someone gets the wrong one.

 

[Nickjr000]

Hate crabs but like emeralds more than hermits. They are good scavengers

 

[john90009]

i would get some emerald crabs if you need them- for bubble algae, brown waffer algae. dead fish stuck behind a rock lol- fun to watch but they like to steal food from lps.

 

[mnat]

I am in the anti emerald crab camp. Every time I have gotten one they little bugger molts, get bigger and becomes annoying. They can pick at corals and small fish and have gone after my shrimp. I have not had one that made a noticeable difference in algae and they always wind up in a refugium and given away. They are also a PITA to catch if you decide you don't want one.

 

[evojoey]

I have one in my BC29. He has taken care of the bubble algae in the tank and is doing a really good job of cleaning up in between my zoa's. He has not gone after anything, i.e. pistol shrimp or peppermint shrimp. He seems to keep to himself and just goes about his daily business of cleaning up. So far so good.