Emerald Crab and Zoa

[Dave_C]

HI guys

Purchased a small zoa at the weekend and seeing it open up was amazing - issue now being the ermald crab I have has also taken notice of the Zoa and just seen him have a nibble with his claws.

Anyone have experience with emerald crabs and zoas ?

 

[Dave_C]

Have temporarily removed the crab from the tank...

Any advice would be great fully received

 

[Fishy212]

Hi there. Just a thought, the crab could have been picking the algae off the zoas..
I have Emerald crabs and never noticed them going after my zoas... but my peppermint shrimp do seem to like them.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

my emerald didnt go for zoa's, but I did catch it eating polyps off my leather coral.

Is there any algae in the tank for it to eat? It could just be hungry.

 

[Dave_C]

Cheers all. Aquarium shop tomorrow for some algae pellets for crabby mc crabface.
Hope it's hunger and he hasn't got the taste for the zoa.

 

[DaJMasta]

Not much really eats zoas, what with the palytoxin and all, so you'll probably find that you have the same number of polyps and the same opening of them once the crab walks away.

I've got a very large emerald that sort of 'grooms' my goniopora corals after I feed the tank, presumably getting particulate food off if them but it doesn't damage them, they just shrink and then come out later. You probably can't see it on a small emerald, but there are actually small flat pads at the very tips of their claws, effectively blunting them but letting them pinch small things to grip them, so it's not like the flesh of the coral would be damaged by them sort of brushing across them a few times.