I have cleanner crabs that go and sit on a coral i just bought. Do they eat the coral or just clean it? It looks like they are killing it as it retracts in a shell but it allways comes back.
2007-03-04 14:34:14 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
Damsels can be extremely aggressive towards other tankmates if they have already established their territory, especially in a smaller sized tank. This can really stress out other fish. Do some research online and you'll find that there are many other species that can coexist peacefully. For example, clownfish, blennies, chromis, etc
2007-03-04 15:36:12 · answer #1 · answered by Aaron S 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Domino's not yellow tail are very nasty. I agree with copperhead here. They will pick on anything you put into your tank....unless only one is kept or the other fish are bigger...even so they are mean. This is sad to say but I was glad when my eel finally ate my last domino. I had two and he ate one leaving the worst one. He was about 5-6" and totally reaked havock on everything even the puffer in my tank. Cleanner crabs, depending on what kind of crab you have will usually just pick debris and various organisms in your tank however some crabs will eat your coral. What kind are they?
Corals and inverts will always retreat to their hiding place if they can when they feel threatened. When they feel the coast is clear (no pun intended) they will come back out. Just be sure your crab does not have long enough pincers to dig inside their hiding places.
And unfortunately I have to agree here, did you not do research before you purchased these fish? I know impulse buying there are so many fish I would love to have......which explains the constant addition of tanks to my house and office. But that is one thing you will have to avoid. The fish will still be thre or they will get you another one. Buy fish you know about. If you don't write the names down and do your research. If you are not running a 150 gallon reef tank or better, just dropping in fish and inverts doesn't work.
If you have any other questions about your fish, new fish feel free to email me or im me and I will try to answer your questions.
2007-03-05 03:31:15 · answer #2 · answered by danielle Z 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Coperhead is right, Lose the damsils they are agressive towards just about anything.
Are you trying to set up a FISH tank? or a REEF tank with a few fish???
If It is Either way, Do some research on the fish you are adding.
Some fish don't get along AT ALL together and some fish EAT CORALS.
As for the Crabs, MOST hermit crabs will NOT eat corals, They eat algae, ditrious, leftover food... they are scavengers.
I have about 30 hermit crabs in a 75gal REEF tank with about 20 different corals, I also have a Emerald crab and a sally lightfoot crab and none of them eat my corals.
Research EVERYTHING you are going to add BEFORE you add it.
Does your Crabs look like these 2 ??
http://www.fishtankforums.com/fish-pictures/showimage.php?i=43&c=3
2007-03-04 20:14:50 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Both types are damsels, and these are aggressive (territorial) fish. They won't get along with each other (or fish you try to put in later). I've had customers tell me they've started their saltwater with damsel because they're cheap, only to have them kill morays and lionfish (venomous). The general rule for saltwater is no fish of the same family, color, or body shape to reduce territoriality. Saltwater doesn't come with many "community" type fish.
I can't really answer your question about the crabs without knowing what kind they are. If it's an emerald, blue-legged or scarlet hermit, Sally lightfoot, or arrow crab, it's probably just eating something (algae) on the coral. Some crabs, however, will eat corals. You might try looking up the ones you have on these websites and see what they say: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=501,
http://www.marinedepotlive.com/inverts--crabs.html
2007-03-04 15:56:53 · answer #4 · answered by copperhead 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
the more important question is why you thought it was a great idea to put all these things together BEFORE you learned about them
as far as the damsels, no eventually they will fight, how big is your tank? crabs dont clean coral, do the math.
is this supposed to be a reef? or just a mish mosh of saltwater organisms set to fend for themselves?
2007-03-04 14:43:37 · answer #5 · answered by drezdogge 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The domino will eventually kill the yellow tail.
2007-03-04 19:29:43 · answer #6 · answered by warscoob 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋