2 Crabies On New Rock

[icklejeni]

got a new piece of rock 2 weeks ago and notice 2 crabs on it when i got home. one is sandy brown and hairy with dark brown smooth claws. the claws seem quite flat on the ends but a bit serated on the inside.

the second one is a funny character. hes purple and hairy and has patches of light blue on his back. he has big sharp claws. he has tripled in size in two weeks and spends all night stripping xenia and collecting rocks and shells to fill his hole in the rock. hes also eaten my snake polyps i think.

ive caught the purple one but cant catch the brown one.

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/purple%20crab.jpg

any ideas?

my mates got a sump so should i put one or both in there? or will they be ok? im worried they might go for my manderin. i think one/both have already killed one of my emerald crabs :(

any advice much appriciated!

Jeni

[Glenn@home]

Jeni

The basic guideline with crabs if their claws are sharp then they will eat flesh and if they flattened they will be algea grazers.

IMHO unless you can get a positive ID on the species then the only way to know if theyre a problem is to monitor them and the tank/inhabitants.

If your at all concerned or worried them put it straight in the sump although for the one you cannt catch there may be only two choices, leave it alone of skewer it in its lair if its causing problems.

HTH

Glenn