Attacked !

[Johnny Reefer]

Originally Posted by Beverly

They are the main contributors to the huge amount of detritus we siphon out of that tank each week IMO, the added bioload of a large, well-fed predatory crab in a sump is not worth it in terms of the nuisance algae it will eventually produce.

The main contributors? Sorry, but I find that hard to go along with.

Also, I may be wrong, but I think the crab would find enough to eat in the sump on it's own, without supplemental feedings, thus avoiding a "slow death". The way I see it, there is usually a certain amount of food that, when the display tank is fed, escapes the display and enters the sump. So you're gonna have uneaten food in the sump anyway. Might as well have a crab in there to help deal with it. It's either uneaten food or crab poop. Take your pick. I'm still pretty new to the hobby, but as far as I know, sump clean up crews are common (cleaner shrimp, etc.) for the very reason of helping maintain the condition of the sump. I would think the crab would be ideal for this.

JMO and cheers,