What eats Sally light foot crabs?

[Gabe]

Over the last year I've been getting these crabs but after weeks and sometimes days I find them in pieces, I used to have a snow flake eel, and I thought that she was eating them. But I got rid of it, and I still have the same problem, this is what I have now: 3 tangs, paired maroons, 4 inch mono, 2 1 1/2" emerald crabs, lots of snails probably 80 to 100.... And that's about it.
I

 

[REEFLECTIONS]

Over the last year I've been getting these crabs but after weeks and sometimes days I find them in pieces, I used to have a snow flake eel, and I thought that she was eating them. But I got rid of it, and I still have the same problem, this is what I have now: 3 tangs, paired maroons, 4 inch mono, 2 1 1/2" emerald crabs, lots of snails probably 80 to 100.... And that's about it.
I

i had a half dollar size gorilla crab in my tank for who knows how long, only saw him by chance one night. they are some stealthy ninja hiders. he musta been in there for years and got in there as a baby in the rock, cause there were no new additions that he possibly coulda hitched a ride on. i think any fish that could would be obvious, so must be a bad crustation. i think alot of us have things lurking in our tanks that we never would have imagined would be in there.

 

[MIKE NY]

you may have a mantis or pistol....I found all of my unwanted critters at night..to catch them just use a tall smooth sided glass or vase and put some meaty food in there....tilt it against the rockwork at night...you'll be surprised at what you might catch....

 

[Imbarrie]

I had a polyclad flatworm for a couple years.
That guy ate all my snails and even munched on a ribbon eel.

I spent hours at night with a red flashlight looking into my reef rock and only saw it twice. You have no idea what could be in your tank that you dont know about.

I got the flatworm, it was nasty.

 

[rbtwo4]

you may have a mantis or pistol....I found all of my unwanted critters at night..to catch them just use a tall smooth sided glass or vase and put some meaty food in there....tilt it against the rockwork at night...you'll be surprised at what you might catch....

if he had a mantis i think it wouldve ate all his 100 snails and hermits he says he has. im gonna go with gorilla crab as a hitch hiker that he doesnt know about. i too went thru same. lost my emerald crabs and didnt know why til i fed my tank one day and saw an arm with a claw come out of a rock and try to grab a piece of food out the water column. i was like wtf?!?!?!

 

[Gabe]

I did take all the rock out of the water last week and examine it really quick with a power flash light and nothing.... The weird thing is that the emerald crabs are healthy. And even the male maroon that is tiny 1 1/2" and sleeps in a little crevice.

 

[beerfish]

Over the last year I've been getting these crabs

Sorry to hear that... try ointment.

No but really... one of the things you can try is looking at your tank with a red or blue light at night. If it's something nocturnal, you'll have a good shot at catching it in the act that way. You don't have to sit there all night with a flashlight, but if you look for a little while every night, you'll probably find your culprit after a few nights.

 

[Gabe]

It seems to have taste for Sally's only.

 

[Gabe]

I'll try some neosporin...

 

[Imbarrie]

Get a sally lightfoot and put it in a small plastic quarantine cage with some rock rubble.
Maybe you spot whatever is eating them coming out to investigate.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

I fed my satan lightfoot to a tank full of triggers.

 

[Reef Fixations]

I dunno if it's possible with crabs but Yellow Tangs (dunno if you have one) are sometimes known for killing and eating cleaner & coral banded shrimp.

 

[Gabe]

I have 2 small yellow tangs and 1 big scopas.

 

[Gabe]

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Just a quick aside, I wouldn't add another Satan Lightfoot. They grow to maturity and then start to hunt and kill your fish. I have seen it with the one I had. It was a pain in the butt to trap and remove and while I was in the process of trying it killed 3 more fish. Yes find out what is the problem because it will probably move on to other things in your tank but adding another Satan Lightfoot is a bad idea.

 

[Gabe]

The Sally light foot are the ones being killed.... No satans.... Nothing else but sallies.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Yes. Sally Lightfoot = Satan Lightfoot. I understand what you mean, now you understand me. The thing that is killing them needs to go, unless it is just the crab molting. But the Sally (satan) is an evil creature that will hunt and kill your fish when it reaches maturity. It will attack small and large fish while they are sleeping and eat them front and center as you watch. Again, find what is killing them but I wouldn't introduce any more of the Sally (satan) lightfoots to your tank.

 

[Gabe]

Got ya now! Ok I won't get anymore of them crabs, but I'm curious as of what did kill them. As I said I put all my rock out and searched for something quite big but nothing ( I was careful not to kill my rock as well) I always thought it was the eel.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Try the trap suggested above. Mantis shrimp and Gorilla crabs are smart little devils so be careful.

 

[Weicowireman]

I just lost my sally lightfoot crab. I am not sure what actually got him. He has been growing at a steady pace and molten 4-6 times since I got him but usually I see him in 2-3 days. Its been about 2 months and just found his shell.


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