Emerald Mithrax Crabs

[Falco]

How many of you guys have/had Emerald crabs in a reef tank? Do they bother small fish, corals or other inverts?

I have a major bubble algea issue and I can't seem to get rid of it. I have heard the Emerald crabs will eat this stuff but they can be a danger to small fish and sometimes corals. The smallest fish I have is a inch and a half Hectors Goby which really isn't going to get much bigger (around 2" max).

Is it worth putting one of these guys in my tank or should I just deal with this stuff?

Thanks!
Chris

 

[heuerfan]

Emeralds are great in my opinion, haven't seem them harmed anything. They do have a tendency to move frags that aren't secure. I have a 1" neon goby with a 1" emerald in my 7 gallon and no problems.

 

[Deanos]

Like many reef inverts, emerald crabs are opportunistic feeders. All the emeralds I've owned have done a great job with bubble algae. With that said, I believe they'll eat anything they can catch.

 

[Deanos]

One advantage though, is that they are much easier to catch than alot of "supposedly reef-safe" creatures we add to our tanks.

 

[bigbris1]

I have a 1.5" emerald in my tank right now with no problems. He does "move" my purple reef lobster out of his cave on occasion, but that's it. Doesn't bother my coral as much as my two skunk cleaners.

 

[alrha]

mine dont bother nobody

 

[aaron23]

they are opportunistic feeders.

 

[pecan2phat]

cali_reef had emeralds crushing the tips of his acros and eating them. I had the opportunity to witness this firsthand!

 

[Reefer420]

purple reef lobster? that guy sounds cool..

 

[ShaunW]

I love them. I have about 10 in my reef. They don't seem to bother anything, but occasionally a bad one can spring up that likes to cause trouble. It is then banished to the sump! :sgrin:

 

[wetshoe]

purple reef lobster? that guy sounds cool..

had a purple reef lobster, destructive and very very opportunistic feeders, they will go after clams and have damaged my sps as well. They're pretty for a reason.

 

[brattramp]

I had an emerald crab that attached and killed a head of my torch coral when it was slightly injured. The rest of the torch was fine, though. IMO, emerald crabs are not worth the risk. There are better ways to control algae.