Emerald Crab ate my Fireshrimp?

[georgec]

So, I’ve had a fire shrimp in my small 14g tank for about 3 months. It’s been happy and feeding.

I just added an emerald crab into my tank this weekend.

I fed my corals this evening like usual and the shrimp was active, out, and eating. When looking at the tank just now, the emerald crab had half the body of the cleaner in its claws and was eating it. (It’s a pretty decent sized emerald)

Is it likely the emerald ate the shrimp? I didn’t think they did that but wondering with the small tank it might have just snagged the shrimp. It feels unlikely the shrimp would have died so suddenly when it was looking healthy just an hour before.

I’m thinking of catching and taking the emerald back before getting another shrimp.

 

[Bruce Spiegelman]

Emerald crabs will eat anything they can catch. They have their uses, but shouldn't be long tern inhabitants of any tank -- let alone a small tank. Just google Emerald Crab ate my fish and you'll find many accounts. They, like many crabs, are opportunistic feeders that will eat literally anything they can catch. As they get bigger they will lunge at anything close to them. They will miss 999 out of a 1000 times, but that once......

Fish stores should tell their customers this.

 

[Coral reefer]

Never trust a crab.

 

[Wlachnit]

Agreed....nothing with claws.

 

[Apon]

you sure it was not the molting of the shrimp?

 

[georgec]

you sure it was not the molting of the shrimp?

Yes. I found the other end / the tail with meat in it. It was the full shrimp not just the shell from molting.