Update: Pom Pom Crab finds missing Pom Pom
Recently we noticed the Pom Pom Crab in our 24-gallon reef tank was missing a pom pom.
I was, admittedly, a bit panicked about the whole affair.
"Claire," as the crab had come to be known (paying homage to the cheerleader in NBC's HEROES), was the first animal we added to the tank (aside from hermit crabs) almost a year ago. Not only that, Claire was a gift from one of our purchasers, who still comes by and asks how her crab is doing.
Needless to say, I had to find out if Claire would be OK.
I posted a blog about our situation along with a thread in the Marine Depot forum to see if I could solicit some feedback from more experienced aquarists.
Fortunately, I received some helpful replies.
A forum admin informed me, "it is possible that during a molt the anemone got away and he hasn't found it yet and may eventually get it back."
A forum member also assured me, "in our tanks they aren't really required and the crab will live a long healthy life w/o the anemones."
Whew!
Anyway, it's now been a month since we noticed the missing anemone and, wouldn't ya know it? Claire found her missing anemone and scuttled out of the rockwork this morning to show us.
It's nice to have a community of people to turn to when you have a question, especially when they show as much concern for the livestock in your tank as their own.
I think I'll go back to my forum thread with an update to let 'em know Claire found her anemone and is living happily ever after (until further notice).
6 comments:
that is the wierdest crab I have ever seen in my life. Does it have pinchers? or am I just blind?
What corals are you keeping in the tank. I've always loved those guys, but worried about them stinging my corals..
Hey Guys,
Well, I'm told (by one of our customer service peeps) that the anemones are thought to be held in place and the crab simply places them in the correct spot (although I'm also told it is somewhat of a mystery). Truth be told, I'm no expert ... I've just gotten into the hobby in the last year and am still absolutely fascinated by everything little thing that happens in our tank. As far as corals go, here's the list without too much detail since I've already been long-winded here: Montipora, Galaxea, Zoanthids, Candys, Star Polyps, Sun, Frogspawn, Xenia, Anchor, Hammer, Brain, Bubble, Torch, Mushrooms and Ricordia. The Pom Pom primarily stays inside a cave near the Sun Coral.
I'm glad Claire found her other Pom-Pom. Rah! Rah! Rah! :-) Great pic, btw.
I did just plumb in a refugium with a nice extra 6 or so gallon area I was going to make a planted display with a gorgonian or two... may have to get one of these pom pom guys for it's resident crab...
smart crab, that claire, lol, probably stays by the sun coral because she knows food goes that way...
The anemones will eventually split and then the crab will have two. I think they stimulate them into splitting.
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