Aaagghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[@ombomb]

The brown menace (a pest crab) may well have claimed another victim as my Goby has now not been seen since Friday. I've tried various methods of getting the crab out, craps, luring into a net with bait and even just spearing it while it's sat on a rock, but nothing has worked so far. I'm getting to the point where I think I'm going to have to strip the tank down to get it out, but even that will be hard as it's very well camoflagued and hides as soon as it sees movement (all attempts to catch it have to be made with tank / room lights off and a red torch).

Not happy.

 

[shibby]

all i can say is good luck, and hope u get the pesky crab! may take a while if u have to strip it all down, but its something to do on a rainy afternoon

 

[kewskills]

just remember it just wants to live, you cant blame it for hiding, if some great big human tried to scoop me out of my house, i would be scared and hiding too.

 

[littleme1969]

Its kinda sad that you have to kill him if you catch him. Cant you keep him in your sump where he wont be able to harm anything?
I keep red tropical crabs in my 100g and they are such charachters They live at the top of my rock/wood pile and eat anything that flats on by, plus food I put out for them. They often sit at feeding time out on a piece of wood waiting for a few pellets to grab and run off with. So cute and fun to watch

 

[@ombomb]

Still not managed to get it out.

If I can get it out by trapping / spearing it, great if not, I'm taking all the rock out.

 

[xNOTLOCx]

try this, take a water bottle, cut the top off like 2 inches down, then take the top and invert it around and glue it on with hot glue, *non toxic type* and then there should be a hole, and all you have to do is set it in and wait, also put bait in it, and try to set it by where he lives.... if the hole is too small just cut it bigger,,, it works

 

[Hobbit]

I have the same problem, but mine is a red-eyed xanthid crab. One of the more poisoneous things out there. And my stocking for the tank is an Neogonodactylus wennerae which is a type of mantis shrimp. So im on a time scale, cause that is not something i want my mantis to hunmt down. I even knew ewhat rock it was in, and i saiked in in freshwater. cold and hot. I broke the rock into thirds, and i never found it. last sighting was about a week ago.

 

[@ombomb]

Still after mine

Have put tearing the tnak apart for now though as I'm moving in a couple of weeks and hopefully I'll be able to get it then.

 

[adambrum]

I had exactly the same problem and nothing worked. it ignored traps and seemed to know when i was thinking about spearing it so in the end i tamed it, i could get it to come about 2" from the rocks then one day BANG squished it, kinda cruel but it beat emptying the tank out

 

[Hobbit]

i found him dead my carpet. lol.

 

[littleme1969]

i found him dead my carpet. lol.

Sure it was him and not just his shell. When crabs shed the remaining shell will fool anyone into thinking its died. MY red crabs did it to me on a few occasions as the exo skeleton is so intack. They just open the back and climb out.
Red crabs are known for going walkabout but most pest marine species are very shy and rarely leave the security of their bit of rock. I have one in my marine tank at the mo, not sure what type it is as its almost black with white markings on its back and claws and stripy legs. He shed the other day so now hes 25% bigger