Reef safe crabs + shrimp

[AberFitchFish]

I'm curious to what type of crabs are safe in a reef aquarium without "high risks" of killing other inverts or fish in the tank. I really find an interest in shrimp and crabs for some reason, i was planning on having/find an interest in

pom pom crabs
porcelain anemone crabs
pistol shrimp
cleaner shrimp
sexy anemone shrimp (maybe)
harlequin shrimp

are these inverts safe? any other types of shrimp or crabs that are reef safe and compatiable? I plan on having peacuful fish such as chromis, perc clowns, shrimp gobies, etc...

[rshimek]

HI,

Really, all crabs and shrimp present some risk to other tank inhabitants. Probably the safest are porcelain anemone crabs as they are mostly suspension-feeding animals.

Pistol shrimps and scarlet cleaner shrimps are more-or-less benign if the tank is well-fed, but they can cause problems by foraging in other animals such as anemones or corals for food. If the tank is not well-fed, they will be predatory.

Pom pom crabs are scavengers or predators. Harlequin shrimp eat only living sea stars.

Anemone shrimp supplement their diet or exist wholly by eating their host slowly (i. e. they a tentacle or two per day). This is no problem if the host has plenty of food and can grow replacements. Otherwise....

:D