finsurgeon
10/09/2006, 08:28 PM
I saw a zebra crab at the LFS. Didn't know much about it, so asked. Naturally, "It'll be alright" was the answer. Saw one a few days later on Liveaquaria, billed as living with urchins in a symbiotic relationship and reef-safe. It was cool, and 30% cheaper at the LFS, so I took it home. It landed by my blue tuxedo urchin and crawled on top. "Cool", I thought. After about 7 - 10 days I noticed the urchin had some bare spots, and I'm not sure if they were there before. Last night I decided that my large Long-spine urchin would be better able to stand having a "parasite", so I knocked him off and chased him to the Long-spine. He jumped on, and the Long-spine took off "sprinting" up the rocks and dove off the side, falling 15 inches to the sand. He then scrambled up the rocks again and again took a flying leap. He has settled down, but behind the rocks and not his usual self. I haven't found anything of substance on the internet yet, so I'd love to know if anyone has had experience with these little guys. I can still pluck him and probably return him if he's gonna whack my urchins, but I'd like to keep him if he's just having a hard time finding a willing symbiot.