Reef Safe Crab List?

thesus13 · #1 04/28/2007, 10:23 PM

Heya All,

I'm researching potential inhabitants for my 5G w/ shrooms.
I've been trying to do some research on google, and am having difficulty finding meaningful results.

I'm looking for a listing of crabs that are reef safe. Any other good reef resource links would be great too = )

Thanks!

Bubbashrimp · #2 04/28/2007, 11:02 PM

There really isn't a "reef safe" crab out there. The best thing to do is make sure that you have a good population of what ever coral you have, in this case shrooms, and make sure that it is reproducing.

That being said the green mythrax crab is your best bet for being "reef safe", as it is largley a plant eater, but if starved it will resort to meat. According to Dr. Shimek, the problem with these crabs is that they are often mislabeled. So you might not even have that crab.

thesus13 · #3 04/28/2007, 11:11 PM

Woo emerald crab!

I was kind of hoping there'd be something more exciting, even if that meant a little bit of feeding = )

Bubbashrimp · #4 04/29/2007, 12:10 AM

I have also read about coral crabs being good because they are symbiots, but I have to tell you, I do not know what they are and I keep thinking that they are porcelin crabs(NOT SURE IF THIS IS TRUE)???

dustin323 · #5 04/29/2007, 12:57 PM

I have 3 emerald crabs & they don't seem to bother anything now, but I'm putting them in my refugium just to be on the safe side. Got 1 just 2 more to go. I have a porcelain crab, I've never heard they aren't reef safe.

Paliya · #6 04/29/2007, 02:02 PM

Go with pom pom crabs, they're reef safe. So are porcelain crabs. Both are really cool crabs.

Trip 22 · #7 04/29/2007, 06:37 PM

2nd the Pom Poms

finsurgeon · #8 04/29/2007, 08:02 PM

I have 5 or 6 emeralds, 2 strawberry crabs, 2 or 3 pom pom (boxing) crabs, 2 porcelain crabs, a "zebra" urchin crab that I have never caught doing anything harmful, even with extensive middle of the night viewing. I'd say mine have proven themselves "reef-safe". I also have a ton of hermits. I had one hitchhiker "gorilla" crab that seemed to behave, but I couldn't keep trusting him and moved him to my son's fish-only tank. If I had to choose, I'd put in a couple pom pom crabs. and also a porcelain if you want that many. and a small emerald if you're up for it.

REEFRHEAD · #9 04/30/2007, 10:27 PM

in such a small tank how about like a electric blue hemrit crab from hawaii? or even the true halloween the crab

graveyardworm · #10 04/30/2007, 11:29 PM

Reef safe can mean different things to different people.

What other livestock are you considering? Chances are many crabs will be fine in there with some mushrooms. If you're planning on keeping some other inverts or fish then it might be a different story.

Emeralds, Sally Light foot, pom pom, porcelin, and hermits would all likely be fine with some shrooms.

J. Montgomery · #11 05/01/2007, 09:10 AM

Get a white porcelain crab, they're awesome!