Sps acro crab

[bklynreef]

I bought a few acro colonies and 3 of them had tiny acro crabs that hitched along. The colonies without the crabs did fine are extending polyps and growing. The ones with the crabs started receding from the bottom where the crabs mainly stay. I don't think it's a coincidence that the crabs were eating the flesh of the acro when the other acros were doing fine. So, pulled out the crabs with a pin cause that's how small they were and let's see if that makes a difference. Without even guessing I know they were munching on the flesh. IMHO, any acro crab is a bad one since its too difficult to tell which is good and which is bad. Better to be safe than sorry. Just my opinion for what's its worth which is 2 cents.

 

[prattreef]

Next time you get any acro crabs, I'll take them because the vast majority of small ones that hitchhike in on acro colonies are beneficial. You or I will never know if in this particular situation you were correct, but I reject the notion that hobbyists should as a matter of practice remove acro crabs from their colonies. BTW, as a general guideline, if they don't have noticeably hairy legs they are not a problem.

 

[JonnyJ]

I love my acro crab, full PE here

 

[bklynreef]

Well, the three that were pulled out seemed to bother or eat the sps flesh. I'd rather pull them all out from the beginning next time than deal with recession and get hope the coral will pull through. We're talking major numbers in money for these colonies, you don't need a worthless crab in there messing with your coral just on the premise of mabe it's beneficial. I personally don't think there's anything beneficial about them in a closed system with reef safe inverts and fish. So what are they really protecting the acro from? I'd rather be rid of them and know its the parameters and not a crab messing my colony.

 

[prattreef]

For informational purposes someone posted this not too long ago ( Mike NY? ) Anyway, nice resource for those who are trying to decide whether to keep or discard an Acro crab.
http://www.chucksaddiction.com/coral_crabs.html

 

[tosiek]

I'm pretty sure the crabs were cleaning off the dead skin, I wouldn't automatically go to the conclusion that its the crabs fault and that they should be removed as standard pest control procedure. If it was stressing out the colonies more than whatever was stressing them in the first place I have no clue. But there are zero accounts that I know if where the presence of acro crabs was detrimental to the coral colony, both healthy or already RTNing. And anything I have heard/experienced about the acro crabs were the opposite of what your experiencing with the same type acro, that those are the last to RTN, ect.

I'm putting my money on something other than the acro crabs causing the RTN problem. You should look into the real reason why those colonies started to recede. It could be a shipping problem or a handling problem on you part as a guess. If they were bad acro crabs then the colony would have been already eaten before you bought it and you would have seen some RTN issues.

What type of acro, where did you get them, ect would be helpful if your too frustrated about the dying coral and want us to figure it out for you.

 

[Cibo]

I f you still have them I'll take them I like to watch the on my sps!!