gorilla crab threat......?

[DaBenzsta08]

I have found a LARGE gorilla crab in my tank, he comes out at night and seems to graze. I have tried to catch him but he goes int ohis crevices every time i eitherl ook at him or put anything in the water. What are some things he oculd possibly due to harm my tank, and what are some techniquesto getting him out.

[coyoteseven]

They can cause quite a bit of havoc, but I've had one in my 90g since I set it up over 3 years ago. The last time I saw him, he was a little bigger than a quarter.

So far he has caused no harm to my other critters and all my efforts to catch this last holdout have been in vain (inverted bottle, tall glass, commercial mantis trap, etc.)... so for now, I leave him in peace, but with the sharpened coat hanger at the ready if he ever decides to change his ways.

[amike5]

I don't know what they can harm in your tank, though my understanding is that you wouldn't want one. To get it out, try leaning a glass against a rock at a steep slope and put a piece of shrimp in it. They can't climb up the glass to get out.

[DaBenzsta08]

thanks for the iput guys ya I tihkn im going to try the glass technique. I have had battles with him vs. me with tweezers, scissors, turkey basters not to mention i was feeding my corals one night and he latched on to the back of my hand

[Avi]

I've got one in my 120-gallon reef that came in with the original live rock that I put into it. It did no damage at all when it was small, but as it matured, after about two-years it did start to do damage. It began by eating zoanthids...not Paly...but others and it also eats mushrooms and also it's eaten legs off of my linckia startfish. It's really hard to catch.

I've tried the glass with the shrimp method over and over again but I find that its nature is to never go into or onto anything that it's legs won't allow it to have a good foothold with. So, it never ventures into the glass.

Unfortunately, the only way I've ever seen one killed is with a sharp too. A fish store that I go to had one in a display tank and they speared it with a pointed metal rod. It was a bit lucky to be able to do that before it went back into the protection of the live rock.

[Two Spot]

I got mine with a mantis trap.

[Avi]

Can you describe what that is, Two Spot? I'll try it if I know what it is.