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Ash-P
Members
Joined: 08 Mar 2007
Location: Leeds, England
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 Posted: 2010.02.15(Mon)17:00 Post subject: Unexpected inhabitant! |
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Hi! My Dad got his first ever marine setup sorted a few days ago with the help of our LFS. We have the water sorted and are 4 days into the cycling process.
While looking into the aquarium earlier today we were talking about possible tank inhabitants when we noticed how much the live rock had changed such as having algae on it now when I thought I saw something MOVE on the rock. I was assured I was just seeing things when a small brown crab with thick white hairs on it appeared from a hole in the rock and ran underneath!
What the heck is this thing!? |
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FloridaBoy
Moderators
Joined: 04 Jul 2004
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| Posted: 2010.02.15(Mon)20:20 Post subject: |
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I would say it's a small brown crab with thick white hairs on it!  Seriously, they are pretty common on live rock, and if I were you, I would make an effort to bait, trap and remove that rascal, because as they grow they can become predators on your fish, especially at night when the fish are snoozing. Your LFS probably has something like this:
http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/217586/product.web?gdftrk=xh23lc0p/7HDy~g3JgKLc36rTBvIe
/8XarBGbs8KjyGTMcjl43kzwaz7VATNF8zea0sP4oXO44
rbBybkX4JZFIiOrzkaJri/bEfe0A9wHs9ZXnuhXuLefMD
Wv6NUHNnDebwhCw7Mv7B/7zxFjcpDuQ__
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Keepin' marines happy for 25 years |
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Ash-P
Members
Joined: 08 Mar 2007
Location: Leeds, England
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| Posted: 2010.02.16(Tue)5:52 Post subject: |
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Ohh! Thanks for your help, thats a really good idea! Thing is though, its a nano-reef type thing and that trap looks pretty big, might not fit in!
Is there anything else I can use to bait it then go in with a net? Meat or something that won't be harmful to the water we're trying to cycle?
You said they're predators - Will it eat the snails we've also just noticed in there? Its teeming with life in there! Shrimps and all sorts that were hiding in the rock! I'm guessing the fish will take care of these when we buy them on Friday?
CAN IT LIVE OUT OF WATER?! |
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number6
Moderators
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Location: Ontario, Canada
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| Posted: 2010.02.16(Tue)11:06 Post subject: |
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I caught the hairy crab tgat was in my live rock one night with a flashlight. I grabbed the whole rock it was on and lifted it clear out of the tank.
Fed that crab to my Stone Crab in my sump...
hey, he had it coming since he ate a $20 cleaner shrimp!
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"Just don't look in my fish room honey... it's just better for all of us. " |
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FloridaBoy
Moderators
Joined: 04 Jul 2004
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| Posted: 2010.02.16(Tue)15:23 Post subject: |
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| Ash-P wrote: | | Ohh! Thanks for your help, thats a really good idea! Thing is though, its a nano-reef type thing and that trap looks pretty big, might not fit in! |
Trap is pretty small, 1-1/2 in. x 5-1/2 in.
| Ash-P wrote: | | Is there anything else I can use to bait it then go in with a net? Meat or something that won't be harmful to the water we're trying to cycle? |
piece of raw cocktail shrimp should work....
| Ash-P wrote: | | You said they're predators - Will it eat the snails we've also just noticed in there? Its teeming with life in there! Shrimps and all sorts that were hiding in the rock! I'm guessing the fish will take care of these when we buy them on Friday? |
Yes, predators; if they get hungry enough, crabs will capture and consume anything they can get their claws on... (see comment from number6 about his shrimp) make sure you test for ammonia and nitrite before you add those fish... cycling a marine tank can sometimes take 3 to 4 weeks, depending on how you seed the tank, volume of live rock, etc. Make sure you fully understand this process!
| Ash-P wrote: | | CAN IT LIVE OUT OF WATER?! |
only for a short time, typical for marine crustaceans... Blue Crabs can live for several days out of water as long as they are kept cool and moist; commercial Maine Lobsters are shipped alive, packed in nothing but cool seaweed. Oh great, now I'm getting hungry for seafood...
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Keepin' marines happy for 25 years |
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unissuh
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Joined: 29 Mar 2005
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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| Posted: 2010.02.16(Tue)16:08 Post subject: |
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Caught most of my crabs using glass jars tilted against the rock with a shrimp pellet inside overnight. No traction on glass so they can't climb out once they fall in.
I do know of people who simply take a skewer and stab the crab through the face when they see it - instant kill.
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Fishing in the Rivers of Light |
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FloridaBoy
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Joined: 04 Jul 2004
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Ash-P
Members
Joined: 08 Mar 2007
Location: Leeds, England
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| Posted: 2010.02.18(Thu)6:22 Post subject: |
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Woah! I'm glad its not that beast in our tank!
We managed to find which rock he was living in, take that out of the water, shook him out of his little hidey hole and took him back to the LFS who happily took it back from us.
I'm not sure how long the cycling process will take because we bought the water, sand and live rock from the LFS who took it from an already established tank, is this a common practise?
Thinking of getting a pair of common clownfish as its only a very small aquarium. |
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diademhill
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Joined: 18 Apr 2007
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| Posted: 2010.02.18(Thu)7:11 Post subject: |
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| What size is the tank? |
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Ash-P
Members
Joined: 08 Mar 2007
Location: Leeds, England
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| Posted: 2010.02.18(Thu)16:46 Post subject: |
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| It's only a 20G |
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