Brain Problems. *More problem critters found....sigh*

[whatcaneyedo]

A few months ago one of my chalice frags suddenly began to recede while the other one continued to grow under the same conditions. It took me a while to discover a small gorilla crab living very close to it and to remove that crab. Once I did that the recession stopped and the chalice has been begun to slowly recover.

Some threads on here have recommended giving liverock a dip in club soda or something which will cause any hitch hikers to evacuate immediately. That would probably be a better way of doing things instead of smashing the rock.

[zum14]

Originally Posted by whatcaneyedo

A few months ago one of my chalice frags suddenly began to recede while the other one continued to grow under the same conditions. It took me a while to discover a small gorilla crab living very close to it and to remove that crab. Once I did that the recession stopped and the chalice has been begun to slowly recover.

Some threads on here have recommended giving liverock a dip in club soda or something which will cause any hitch hikers to evacuate immediately. That would probably be a better way of doing things instead of smashing the rock.

I might have to give that a try, im a little on the skimpy side for rock anyways.

[zum14]

So this is what scrambled out of the rock along with a good sized bristle worm. Antenna and a crab like claw. not sure why i didnt come up with shrimp. Has a good pincher on it though. At first google i came up with a type of pistol?? Anyone think otherwise or if it is a possible cause of the problem?

[zum14]

Dang. So I was spot feeding the brain which is eating with quite an appetite now, doesnt seem to be coloring up much but it is eating so we will see how it goes. Anywho.... while watching him munch up some food I noticed some sand being blown out from under a rock behind it. Watched. Seen it again. Thought it was just my tiger tail which I have seen him do before. Then I saw some legs or claws or something not tiger tail. Dang again. Not sure how it made it through the club soda but it did. I think its another pistol as Im pretty sure I saw a claw come out, a small cloud of sand, and a click noise. Sooo anyone think that a pistol is causing the problem? Im only worried because it is a scavenger and the brain isnt in peak health and also because he seems to be setting up camp near the brain, not near the other brain or any other corals but near this one. Im not sure I will ever be able to spend money on live rock again having all the problems Ive had with this batch, that eco rock sure seems nice.

[nlreefguy]

well, that's not the problem, that's just a pistol shrimp. I don't know if I'd go so far as to call it "beneficial" (could be a minor scavenger but more like a minor predator on small crustacean life) but it's more like "harmless", in general.

[zum14]

So another update, the brain just doesnt seem to want to get better, some days it will grab and eat, some days it does nothing. Seems to be growing some new flesh around the exposed skelatal area but im not holding my breath, could be some localized inflation and some other corals are randomly showing some unhappyness for a day or two, particularly the other open brain. I set up a webcam and taped all night, watched in fast forward and did see some movement around the brain that looked liek a claw but couldnt be certain as it wasnt light enough to be able to see properly, need a better webcam. So after lights out tonight I thought id see if I could catch a good glimps of the pistol as im still hearing clicks as well. I let a bit of food go around the tank. Grabbed a flashlight. Seen a glimps of the pistol around the brain im still having trouble with, oh well. Then I fiigured Id just motor around the tank and take a peek and see if I can see some critters. Well I saw exactly what I didnt want to see. 2 more crabs. *Sigh* One looks like the other 2 crabs I got out of the tank. Dark purple bodies and black claws with reddish undersides. And the other looks either Xanthid or Gorilla. Darn. Thats 4 Crabs, and two pistols in this tanks life so far. I see reefer rock in my display in the future and a piece of live in the sump for a seed. It may take longer in the beginning but it beats tearing your tank apart 4 times to get all these things out that are picking on your corals.