Brown fuzzy acropora crab, blue eyes

BMW Rider · #1 12-21-2005, 02:42 PM

I got a Bali acro too earlier this year and it also had a brown fuzzy crab as a hitchiker. I removed it and tossed it into my refugium. I later determined that it was a xanthid crab, so I did the right thing. They are an undesireable type to have in your tank. I don't recall its eye colour (can't find it now to check), but the identifying characteristic were the black tips on its claws. I also have one of the acro crabs living in that coral, he stays since he is not harmful.

Delphinus · #2 12-21-2005, 03:58 PM

I thought about Interceptor too Harvey. I don't have any, nor have I spoken to a vet yet, so hopefully it doesn't have to come to that -- although I am accepting it as inevitable that eventually I will have to one day source some and do some treatments. In this tank I also have a porcelain crab, three peppermint shrimp, some of the "masked" acro crabs, and theoretically an emerald crab (although I haven't seen it in a few weeks now) so I'd have to catch all those guys and put'em somewhere else for a bit, if it came to that.

I'm thinking that since I can usually find this fuzzy crab without too much effort (it's always on an acro... not always the same acro, seems to "acro hop") so I'm thinking as long as I'm quick on the draw I can pull the whole colony out of the tank to catch the crab, rather than try to chase it around with tweezers.

The acro it came in on is pretty much decimated. I thought it was STN but I was unable to determine a cause, but now I wonder if it's just that the crab had his fill, and is now moving onto the others in the tank.

The thing that really threw me with this guy is the eye colour. They are most definitely sky-blue. Had they been red, I would have known not to trust it from the get-go. I don't know enough about crabs to know if eye colour is really significant, i.e., can there be variability of eye colour within species or not -- I don't know. It's so hard to do a search on RC these days so I hadn't even bothered trying to delve into it further. Last night was the first inkling I've had in 3-4 months that maybe I've made a mistake in judgment in trusting the crab would be harmless.

mr_alberta · #3 12-21-2005, 04:03 PM

I was actully hinting at removing the coral with the crab and doing an interceptor dip for a few hours...the crab should just fall out of the acro...dead.

Delphinus · #4 12-21-2005, 04:14 PM

Oh-- well, yes that would work too. Although none of my corals are so large that I think there'd be a problem picking off a crab with tweezers once I had the coral in hand and out of the tank. Unless he's so quick that he jumps off as I pull the coral out of the tank.

Delphinus · #5 12-22-2005, 06:38 AM

Caught him. Wasn't too bad, waited until well past lights-out in the tank, pulled out my hoeksemai where he was munching, flicked him into a container, put the coral back.

Definitely has the black tipped claws. I'll try to remember to snap some pics tomorrow.

mr_alberta · #6 12-22-2005, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Caught him. Wasn't too bad, waited until well past lights-out in the tank, pulled out my hoeksemai where he was munching, flicked him into a container, put the coral back.

Tony!

Buddy....Pal!

P.S. Dibs on frags

KrazyKuch · #7 12-22-2005, 07:48 PM

we had one of those crabs and it was eating our acro's so we bainshed him to the fuge were he later died!!