Emerald Crabs are omnivores
I would my Emerald crabs in a reef, Scotty. I have seen them catch ill fish and smaller healthy benthic fish such as gobies, blennies (Never healthy tangs etc. thats crap), but as well they can also prey on corals. I have seen them attack SPS a couple of times (It is rare, but happens) One of my clients has had an emerald crab from the beginning in his 120gal reef 1.5 years ago, and I put a Hydnophora frag in there and in 30 seconds the Emerald crab was sitting there scraping away - Last Week. It destroyed the stony coral frag quickly, and then tried to move onto some other SPS frags that had been in there for months. Needless to say I removed the little rogue. And no, there was no identity problem here, though there frequently is at Pet Stores.
They will eat anything if it appeals to them. They are absolute Omnivores.
They can snack on Valonia spp. Algae (Bub.) but they rarely clean the entire tank quickly.
Destroy the Valonia with a syringe full of near boiling hot water. Remember to fill the syringe half full, then initially draw back some Valonia fluid into the syringe then pump the hot mixture back in. Tedious but effective, and you don't even have to burst the bubble.
Good Luck.
Stephen
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