BowieReefer84 January 26, 2013 Share January 26, 2013 Is it possible my large emerald crab cut the top lip off my bluethroat and completely destroyed his top fin? I fed the tank last night and the fish looked great (other than 2-3 small ich spots). Today I look in and his top lip is gone and top fin is ragged beyond belief (50% gone). I fed the tank and he ate a lot and is out swimming normal, but he looks completely awful. Not sure what to do? The emerald is gonna get it next time I see him, but what else could it have been. No other fish in tank. Some snails and a cleaner shrimp only. I am contemplating quitting at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds January 26, 2013 Share January 26, 2013 No quitting. How big is this emerald? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan January 26, 2013 Share January 26, 2013 (edited) Have you got a picture? No quitting!!! Edited January 26, 2013 by Jans Natural Reef Foods Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 January 26, 2013 Author Share January 26, 2013 No quitting. How big is this emerald? I would say it's a large one in comparison to most. Have you got a picture? No quitting!!! yesterday: 20130117_182543 by mteske1, on Flickr today: 20130126_160522 by mteske1, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flooddc January 26, 2013 Share January 26, 2013 Can't throw in the towel! get your tank fully established first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldogtaxi January 26, 2013 Share January 26, 2013 its a ninja emerald! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 January 26, 2013 Author Share January 26, 2013 (edited) its a ninja emerald! Not really funny... Obv you don't have any helpful thoughts. Edited January 26, 2013 by BowieReefer84 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flooddc January 26, 2013 Share January 26, 2013 I don't think the crab did it. Possible spook and hurt himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 January 26, 2013 Author Share January 26, 2013 (edited) I don't think the crab did it. Possible spook and hurt himself. I'm just not sure. A scratch on the body could have been a spook, but the top lip is gone and 50% of top fin... I find it very strange, and have never experienced anything like this before. Last night I was just thinking how great this fish looked, and today this. Edited January 26, 2013 by BowieReefer84 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basser9 January 26, 2013 Share January 26, 2013 Triggers sleep in caves and can without a doubt be attacked by a large sallylightfoot or emerald. Crabs and triggers are a strange mix unless you are feeding hermits to them. Triggers are great fish but only really should be in a fish only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds January 26, 2013 Share January 26, 2013 Do u have a screen top? Could he have tried to jump, injuring himself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collegeman January 26, 2013 Share January 26, 2013 (edited) It's possible that the crab did it. Triggers like to sleep in caves and will let crabs pick on them. The trigger should heal with no problem. I would keep it in the tank and let nature take its course. My five years old damsel was almost ripped in half by something and he is almost completely healed. It took him 2 weeks to completely heal. I think you should feed Jan's food and maybe dose vitamin c. Edited January 26, 2013 by collegeman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flooddc January 26, 2013 Share January 26, 2013 (edited) I'm just not sure. A scratch on the body could have been a spook, but the top lip is gone and 50% of top fin... I find it very strange, and have never experienced anything like this before. Last night I was just thinking how great this fish looked, and today this. catch the crab and move it to the sump if he's your suspect, jut to be safe. Good luck Mike. Hope he recovered nicely. Edited January 26, 2013 by flooddc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 January 26, 2013 Author Share January 26, 2013 Triggers sleep in caves and can without a doubt be attacked by a large sallylightfoot or emerald. Crabs and triggers are a strange mix unless you are feeding hermits to them. Triggers are great fish but only really should be in a fish only. Yea, I was going soft corals and fish. There are tiny tiny blue legs, and a mix of snails that seem ok though right? I am in the process of building my spear gun. The crab is going to die. Do u have a screen top? Could he have tried to jump, injuring himself? No screen top. Couldn't have been that. Good guess though. It's possible that the crab did it. Triggers like to sleep in caves and will let crabs pick on them. The trigger should heal with no problem. I would keep it in the tank and let nature take its course. My five years old damsel was almost ripped in half by something and he is almost completely healed. How long will it take to heal? Anything I can do to help? Willing to QT to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quantum Reefs January 26, 2013 Share January 26, 2013 Mike, sorry to hear this... emerald crabs are opportunity predators so there is a potential for this to occur. take he crab and put in your sump if possible.... although spearing it and steaming with some old bay might not be a bad idea. you can use malafix to help speed up the fin growth and healing of the jaw. If you have a skimmer, make sure to turn it off first or it will go crazy with foam. with time, it should recover nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collegeman January 26, 2013 Share January 26, 2013 Yea, I was going soft corals and fish. There are tiny tiny blue legs, and a mix of snails that seem ok though right? I am in the process of building my spear gun. The crab is going to die. No screen top. Couldn't have been that. Good guess though. How long will it take to heal? Anything I can do to help? Willing to QT to help. I did not put my fish in a qt. something told me not to and I am glad I did. The stress of moving the fish might be more harmful. If he is eating keep feeding him and make sure you keep your water clean. I think dosing vitamin c will help. The damsel was so bad my wife didn't want to look at the fish. I wish I was able to get good pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 January 26, 2013 Author Share January 26, 2013 Mike, sorry to hear this... emerald crabs are opportunity predators so there is a potential for this to occur. take he crab and put in your sump if possible.... although spearing it and steaming with some old bay might not be a bad idea. you can use malafix to help speed up the fin growth and healing of the jaw. If you have a skimmer, make sure to turn it off first or it will go crazy with foam. with time, it should recover nicely. Thanks guys. I am busy this evening, but tomorrow starts hunting season. Is malafix safe for DT? I did not put my fish in a qt. something told me not to and I am glad I did. The stress of moving the fish might be more harmful. If he is eating keep feeding him and make sure you keep your water clean. I think dosing vitamin c will help. The damsel was so bad my wife didn't want to look at the fish. I wish I was able to get good pictures. Yea, my wife who could care less about the tank even was upset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quantum Reefs January 26, 2013 Share January 26, 2013 yes, it's safe to use in the DT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds January 26, 2013 Share January 26, 2013 you should be able to find the crab pretty easily. Just pull out some structures and look underneath. I only like to put in real tiny emeralds and then remove them when they get big. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef January 26, 2013 Share January 26, 2013 Also...do you have moonlights? If not he could have run into a powerhead? ( I have had them do that before and get ragged fins)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Decadence January 26, 2013 Share January 26, 2013 I'll buy your crab for $10 to ease the pain and avoid its demise. Your fish will heal. I see emeralds get blamed for a lot of things in this hubby but rarely is their any actual proof but rather a boat load of assumption. Not too recently on another forum, someone was losing cleaner shrimp and killed their emeralds as a result. Cleaners still went missing and they eventually found their yellow tang with antenna sticking out of its mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve175 January 26, 2013 Share January 26, 2013 Mike: you are not a quitter. I, too, think that it got the bad end of a Tunze and will get better with tincture of time. I disagree with Basser: I think that your your blue throat will do fine in a mixed reef. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 January 27, 2013 Share January 27, 2013 I doubt the crab did it. I have seen interactions between triggers and emeralds and never has a trigger lost. I am also thinking it got caught in the pump or perhaps chewed the wrong thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basser9 January 27, 2013 Share January 27, 2013 I gave up on any trigger in any type of reef they get a certain size and they go crazy. I had a CLOWN after 1 years pk up my hermits and crash them into the rocks then start to pk up rocks and hit the glass......Thing went crazy. I tried a NIGER he was find then it went crazy to no matter how much i feed it it attacked everything in my tank including most of my fish. It was killing everything for fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan January 27, 2013 Share January 27, 2013 Wow. Is it red or just white? Can you get a close up, Mike? I can't see the fin issue. I can't imagine what could have done that other than a fight or something mechanical. I would say it's a large one in comparison to most. yesterday: 20130117_182543 by mteske1, on Flickr today: 20130126_160522 by mteske1, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now