Help! I need to catch a Crab!! Dead or Alive!!

[pashazero]

I just started my 40 gal tank with 50lbs of rock.. and two days into cycling i see some sort of crab that is about an inch wide.. the rock was dry for a good 24 hours b4 i put it in the tank so i have no idea how the sucker survived.. but i need to catch it dead or alive b4 i start putting fish and coral in the tank.. i have only seen in once and have never seen it again but i know the sob is lurking somewhere waiting to kill the 80 dollar coral i put in the tank!! i need suggestions or tips how to catch or kill the thing.. the thing is really fast and b4 i could get my camera to snap a pic.. it booked into the abyss of my aquascaping!!!

[lessthanlights]

you can make a quick crab trap with a 2 liter bottle cut in half and turn the top around and putting it in the bottom to make a one way funnel. stick some shrimp, crab, meat, ect in there and leave it overnight.

[reeferchickdc]

spear him!

[pashazero]

i saw him again last night.. i want catch the sucker!!!

[Navyblue]

Lure him out with a piece of shrimp to the sandbed, with or without trap, and he is all yours.

[Putawaywet]

Heck a plain old glass jar will work. Something along the lines of a a snapple jar would be about perfect.

Remove the label, and after the lights go out prop it up near the crabs hideout at an angle - no more than 45-50 degrees from vertical - and bait with your favorite meaty fish food. Check on it the next morning.

I've removed 5 or 6 from tanks over the years with this method. Most I think it ever took was 3 tries for a couple of the more stubbon ones.

Brett

[sulp]

bottle trap works great. A simple snapple bottle is all you need. Crabs can't resist the lure of a piece of raw meat.

[markwbball]

If It can crawl into the bottle can't it crawl out?

[DrHank]

Have you ever tried to climb a wet glass slide set at a 45 degree angle. Good luck! :)

[markwbball]

Won't the food float away if I put it in a bottle..

[SgJsg35]

It depends on what you put in there, use your imagination.

[matter1331]

if you're worried about it floating away, take a peice of squid or krill and rubberband it to a small peice of LR, no muss no fuss.

[Rjukan]

Yikes, you put an $80 coral in there? Or hopefully you mean it would be lurking and waiting for you to put that coral in if you dont spend the time to get the crab out now.

Otherwise I agree with the bottle idea, matter is right on the mark with the rubberband/LR rubble suggestion.

[pashazero]

Thanks everyone the inverted water bottle with a shrimp technique worked and I caught the son of a ***** last night.. It was a box crab.. Thanks for everones help and advice!!!

[newman330]

I personally prefer the skewer method. I keep a kabob skewer handy. It is bent approx. 30 degrees about 3 inches from the end. Bend makes it easier to access holes in rocks.

My technique is to spotlight the offender and then maneuver the skewer into a position just above the crab with the tip against the rock. I will then attempt to 'smash' the bugger with the side of the tip of the skewer. I find this more effective than trying to gouge... more stable.

Sometimes in my attempt to 'skewer' the crab, I end up knocking the crab off the rock. My skewer then becomes a 'herding' instrument. I will force the crab up close to front glass where I can scoop it out with a net. Those caught this way end up in prison in my refugium. I dont turn them loose... I have 3 short drinking glasses in there that I drop them into in hopes of maybe somebody wanting them and thus eliminating the need for me to kill.

Hope that was helpful

[UnderCoverDork]

i stabbed my gorilla crab with a bbq squewer..just left the squewer next to the tank..saw him creeping around my green tort..and BAM!
i felt bad, but i tried other things to catch him and it want working.

[cbabcock]

what is a gorilla crab?

[TKByrnes]

a gorilla that walks like a crab!!! lol no they are hairy little buggers and they are bad bad bad!!