crab hunting

[Graham_f]

hello,
I'm new around here so take it easy on me :)

I've had my first tank up and running for a few months and so far everything has been going pretty smoothly so far, aside from a small issue with some green star polyps that decided to die...and start a fun algae bloom. so much for the one coral that "anybody" can grow :)
while cleaning up the mess i spotted a small crab and quickly lost him into my rock. At first i was quite excited about the new find but after a quick google search i found out he was not welcome in my tank. ive only seen him twice in three months but its grown very fast. prob about 1.25" across now and was last seen picking the insides out of my late starfish :cry:

the time has come, he has got to go now.
I've tried the DIY bottle trap with various baits but he wont leave the rock.
any ideas? my live rock setup doesn't allow me to take rocks out without much frustration.

thanks

[Cracken]

Lol. I just got into this saltwater realm myself and have had this problem myself. I caught 1 crab with the bottle but a few days ago i was up investigating my tank and have 3 new crabs cruising around my live rock. My good friend Titus told me to take a small glass and bury it in my sand and bait it. For you maybe use a bit of your belated starfish. Hope it helps I'm sure hoping so.

[Dearth]

Bait traps are your best bet short of tearing your aquascape to pieces just make sure the trap is high enough for them to not climb out once in

[chanda17]

I had a crab in my tank before and I was lucky as it left its cave and hides in my Branching Black Sun Coral when it was hunting for food. I removed it from my tank by simply taking the coral out of the tank and poked it with a toothpick.

My friend told me that I could place a small bottom with clam meat as bait near its cave and keep an eye on it with a flashlight after the lights are off. Crabs especially like clam meat for some reason.

Hope that helps

[Proteus]

As crackin said. I used a glass buried in sand and or leaning against rock. They go in to get bait and can't climb the glass to get out.

Worked for the Sally's that were in my tank

[Graham_f]

Thanks for the ideas I think I'll pick up some clam tonight and try the buried cup thing.

Stupid crabs :)

[Dearth]

Just remember to be patient it could take several days to capture or you could luck out and get it first shot...patience is the key

[Graham_f]

Do I replace the bait every morning or leave it in for a while?

[Dearth]

Either or some species like fresh others like theirs well tenderized....

[DigitalWeight]

Mine was a bit larger and the bottle trick, glass trick etc didn't ever work. I ended up using a flashlight and scewered it - this was after the fu^#er killed my shrimp and a few snails.

Scewered crab (http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=803731&postcount=9)

[Graham_f]

funny you should say that. ^
i was just setting my traps for the night and i must have spooked him out of his hideout. He was just barely visible and i attempted to skewer him, but missed and kinda flicked him out into the open. After that it was just a little scoop with the net and i had him :)
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r111/gfish3410/image_zpsf3d59d8b.jpg

he will now live out the rest of his days in my sump.
thanks for the help

[Dearth]

Congratz

[gregzz4]

funny you should say that. ^
i was just setting my traps for the night and i must have spooked him out of his hideout. He was just barely visible and i attempted to skewer him, but missed and kinda flicked him out into the open. After that it was just a little scoop with the net and i had him :)


he will now live out the rest of his days in my sump.
thanks for the help
Wouldn't hurt to leave a glass in for a couple days, just in case you have more you're not aware of
I used a piece of uncooked shrimp and got one crab the first night, but the other crab took a couple days. I guess #2 preferred the rotting shrimp over fresh :smile:

[Graham_f]

ya i was thinking the same... i've left one in. hopefully it was just the one evil crab

[chanda17]

Congrats! Looks similar to one I caught in my tank.

[Cracken]

Good job. I'm still on the hunt for my gang of crabs. Can't believe I have 3 to trap. Anyone ever use 25 % vinegar to 75 % water mix to dip the live rock to get the pests out?

[hillegom]

If you know their hidy hole you could throw some soda water on the rock.
Apparently the dissolved CO2 is not appreciated and they will come out.