Xenia eating crab? I.D. please

[btodd43]

Hey all- dont have a camera but noticed a small (about the size of a dime) crab living in a hole he's light tan with light brown stripes on his legs , box style. We (had) a nice pulsing Xenia but came home to find it munched on and it died but there was a baby growing and it now has been munched too. any clues?

[LTJGAlex]

He could be a xanthid crab, in which case it is possible (though not certain) that he's munching polyps. If he's a xanthid, good luck. They're fast as lightning, plus you'll just about never see them with the lights on. My hitchhiker xanthid only comes out very late in the night cycle.

[alten78]

oh man, if i could get one of those crabs to take out just my xenia ill be set. Ripped one rock somewhat clean of em...blah, what a nasty job.

[bertoni]

You could try putting together a trap. Basically, cut off the top of a soda bottle, invert it, and add some food. Then, hope for the best. There are some threads on this subject if you want to look around.

[fakename]

I have had no success with this trapping of crabs........all I get are hermits and snails....
Spear fishing for crabs however has become a most successful past-time of mine :D

[bertoni]

Well, some people have had luck... Certainly not all.

Watching the tank at night with a spear in hand might be worth the effort, if the trapping fails... I've used tongs to catch the little monsters, for that matter.