Crab!!!

B

blamm

I saw a large, ugly crab go into a hole in a rock and I want it gone. Unfortunately the rock is a pillar rock and cannot be moved. I can see the hole but of course it is not open enough to get a fish trap near. I probably can cover the hole with a small net but would have to sit there forever until he appears again. I just purchased a goby/shrimp trio and they are tiny and I sure do not want to lose them. I have not had a loss in this tank that I cannot account for, 2 cleaner shrimp, star fish and golden dwarf moray and hawk fish have been around for a very long time. Any suggestions on how I might catch him, I have a fish trap but there is no room for it in the tank.

blamm
 
crazy idea, but how about "smoking him out" with Kalk and a syringe in the hole you think he is hiding out in? The other option would be to make a trap. Take a 16 oz. soda bottle and cut the top 1/3 off and invert it and glue it back on the bottome piece. Stick a piece of shrimp or meaty food in the bottom of the trap and hope he goes in after it.
 
Just not enough room for a trap and I have one anyway. I did think about the kalk idea and might try that and be prepard to net him if I can. I hate him in there, he is quite large and he has to have been in there for 2-3 years as we have not added any rock. I also thought about a baited type hook but my tangs and moray would be way too interested

blamm
 
I would not add any large amount of kalk directly to a tank, the potentially massive ph/alk swing could negatively impact the entire tank inhabitant's. You can try the piece of shrimp in a glass trick. You lean a drinking glass against a piece of LR, drop in a small piece of shrimp or other food in the glass. Crab's usually come out and hunt after dark so if they crawl into the glass, then the slippery surface of the glass keep's them from escaping.

Cheers,
 
Why would you put a shrimp and goby in a tank with a moray in the first place?

Why not cover the hole up with epoxy? Just seal it in there


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Catch crabs... bring a sailor into your tank... I kid... I kid.

Few ways you can catch it. Bimmerz trap works well, sealing it in the hole works well too but it could have a backdoor.

A few others to get it out alive, put some silversides in a nylon stocking. Most bad crabs have hairy legs so they will stick to the nylon.
You can also use a plastic soda/water bottle, cut the top off and lean it against the rock and bait it.
You can also try scalding hot water via a small pump like a toms and flush him out.

I prefer to get them out alive then feed em to mantis shrimp..... but hey thats just me.

You can also skewer it with bamboo skewers or metal ones if you have those. Ive seen meat forks used too.....
 
Couple of things. 1) Unless you caught him last night, he came out of the rock during the night and there is no guarantee that he went back to the same rock. You should try Ron's (Bimmerz) and DaveJ's "tricks" but I wouldn't be surprised if he's in a different spot 2) you insinuate that he's been in your tank a while as you say you haven't added anything and you also say that all your livestock is and has been accounted for, maybe a reef safe crab? lastly 3) if you still believe he's in that "pillar" rock and you feel that there is no way to use a method listed above, then it'd be worth your time to break down that area of your tank and get to that rock. I had the same thing happen and when I lost a 6 line wrasse I figured it was time to get him (this was a stone crab). I had to take ALL my rock work out as with Murphy's law, he was hidden in the last piece. Just another opinion


Tj
 
thanks for all the suggestions. Pampee the Moray is a golden dwarf that has been in the tank for a long time and the cleaner shrimp rides around on his head, I was not the least bit concerned about him. I am going to try the glass and the nylon, there just is not enough room for a trap. I am sure he stays in the same cave as when I use a flash light I can see where he has chewed the cave and made it the size he wants and it goes back a way and down into the sand. He probably is not a horrible crab but he must have been quite small in the beginning and now is about 2 inches across, round, dull brown with 2 large claws. Another plan was to try to "tame" him by feeding him and getting him used to me feeding him so he will come out. Will keep you updated but of course removing the rock is the last thing we want to do as nearly every inch of the rock work is covered with corals and such. Sure hope the small snapping shrimp can protect his gobies.

blamm
 
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