Removal Of Problem Hitchhiker

tmreynolds

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Some of you may remember this topic:-

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My rogue hitchhiker crab has developed a taste for peppermint shrimps..I thought my 2 original ones died naturally, but when I added another I saw the crab go for him instantly.

I originally decided upon the innocent until proven guilty stance for this crab, but he is now officially guilty and sentenced to removel and back to the LFS that "gave" me him.

The big question is how to remove it?

I've tried the glass at an angle with food in it, but cleaner shrimps take seconds to de-bait the trap.
I bought a trap which will let creatures in but not out, but so far just my nassarius snails have been caught.
He is certainly too shy and quick to catch by hand.

I guess I will have to remove all my LR, although there is 25kgs +?

I have heard that submerging the LR in soda water will force him out? Is this safe to the LR for a short space of time?

Any other suggestions on the best way to catch him?
 
Put the rock in salt water and raise the temperature over a period of time. as the water temperature increases the oxygen content reduces and the crab may be forced to lok for better conditions..

if not then try and plastic coke bottle with the neck cut off and turned back in on itself. the crab will crawl into this if you place the opening near the rocks and wont be able to get out.
 
Put the rock in salt water and raise the temperature over a period of time. as the water temperature increases the oxygen content reduces and the crab may be forced to lok for better conditions..

if not then try and plastic coke bottle with the neck cut off and turned back in on itself. the crab will crawl into this if you place the opening near the rocks and wont be able to get out.

Thanks for the reply, its a tricky one because not knowing which bit of rock he will be in, I would have to remove all of it to another container, then raise the temp in there. But then it will be difficult to see if he comes out, plus some bits have coral attached and it would leave me with no LR in my main tank.

Is there way of dipping each piece individually in something like soda water or freshweater dip, not long enough to kill anything but enough to force critters to get out of there!?

I not 100% about the coke bottle thing, how wouldn't he be able to get out if he could get in?, sorry, can't picture it in my head.. :blush:

Cheers,
 
There is an easier method. Take a bucket of RO water, and pour a whole bunch of magnesium chloride in there and dissolve it. At least 1 cup per gallon, if not more. Then take the rock out and dip it in the magnesium filled water. Mobile inverts will run screaming from the rock and end up in the bucket :D
 
There is an easier method. Take a bucket of RO water, and pour a whole bunch of magnesium chloride in there and dissolve it. At least 1 cup per gallon, if not more. Then take the rock out and dip it in the magnesium filled water. Mobile inverts will run screaming from the rock and end up in the bucket :D

Will this damage the LR/bacteria at all, or kill any of the good critters?
 
If you do it to your whole tank, you might decimate your pod population (cause they'll run screaming too), but if you're just removing a few rocks to get a crab, no. We're talking like a 10-30 second dip here, doesnt take long at all.
 
Epsom salts (usually found in a supermarket or pharmacy) or some snow de-icers are magnesium chloride here in the states. Beware, not all de-icers are MgCl
 
Epsom salts (usually found in a supermarket or pharmacy) or some snow de-icers are magnesium chloride here in the states. Beware, not all de-icers are MgCl

Cheers mate, epsom salts are coming up as magnesium sulphate, is that the same thing or indeed OK to use?

Cheers,
 
Same difference, its the magnesium that makes them scream ;). Doesnt matter if the companion ion is sulfate or chloride. :D
 
Well...after the rogue crab has devoured my peppermint shrimps and now my both my small porcelain crabs, I had to take some action.

I decided to try Ski's epsom salts method.

I partitioned the tank into 2, as i thought I new the rocks he was hiding in.
I then removed the rocks one by one and dunked them in some RO water with epsom salts in.
But after clearing the first half of the tank, nothing...
I then noticed the crab inside one of the rocks!
With a bit of gentle persuation....I am now crab free. Took me nearly 3 hours in total, but was worth it.

He didn't run screaming from the epsom salts though, it didn't seem to bother him, but matters not.

I'm much happier now as I was losing patience not being able to catch him, despite several concerted attempts.

I did find a hitchhiker pistol shrimp that I didn't know I had though :good:
 

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