Aneomone Crabs

[Miss Wiggle]

went to the lfs this weekend and saw a cute little grey crab scuttling around. Been told it's an anenome crab. Wondering if anyone can give me any info on them, are they suitable for our 30g reef tank? Do they *need* an anenome? I'm guessing/hoping they're like clowns and will host in anything

 

[mantis147]

I had one for ages without a anemone and they were very peaceful & I just give it a bit of lance fish every few days. Interesting to watch also they have two like arms that catch floating food etc.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

I had one for ages without a anemone and they were very peaceful & I just give it a bit of lance fish every few days. Interesting to watch also they have two like arms that catch floating food etc.

yeah they're filter feeders aren't they, always cool to watch!

do they need live/meaty foods then? we give a mix of flakes/pellets and the some live/meaty food as a treat occasionally. would that be alright?

 

[mantis147]

not sure if they would eat flake or pellet

 

[SkiFletch]

Probably would do just fine without a nem. From my understanding they really just use the nem for protection from predators in the wild so as long as you dont add crab-eating fish you should be fine

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Probably would do just fine without a nem. From my understanding they really just use the nem for protection from predators in the wild so as long as you dont add crab-eating fish you should be fine

what about dietry requirements? if they're filter feeders they shouldn't be taking big chunks of fish should they? i'm confused!

 

[SkiFletch]

Dont quite me on this, but I'm pretty sure they're omnivorous scavengers and will eat most things that look like food that float by them

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Dont quite me on this, but I'm pretty sure they're omnivorous scavengers and will eat most things that look like food that float by them

look i quoted you

mwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha



i'll do a bit more research see if I can back that up. cheers dude

 

[x-fish]

i've seen them -very peacefull fishy! and also ive heard that it cleans you tank.
its like a hygene fish! also its cute

 

[Donya]

A long time ago I asked about those crabs, and someone (can't remember who...too long ago) mentioned that the particular species I was asking about needed to eat some anemone slime as part of their diet. Mabye some other type of slime would work though, since they arn't species-specific with what nems they choose to host. I think it was this type that I saw in the LFS and asked about on the forum: http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_di...tid=629&N=0

 

[Mr Miagi]

Here is the thread Donya was mentioning before. Both Aquascaper and I mentioned their food source, which includes the slime coat form their host anemones. Im sure their det could be supplemented, the anemone is more for protection from predators, they are alot more delicate than the hairy crabs we get in LR.

 

[Mr.September15]

Are they aggresive toward fish?