Lophozozymus edwardsi (Crab)

Source Reeflex.net

QUICK STATS

• Care Level: Very Easy
  
• Temperament: Aggresive
  
• Reef Compatible: No
  
• Water Conditions: 73.4 °F - 82.4 °F (23°C - 28°C)
  
• Max. Size: Up to 5 cm
  
• Diet: Fish (little Fishes), Flakes, Frozen Food (large sort), Smelts
  
• Origin: Indo-Pacific
  
• Family: Xanthidae
  
• Insert Date: 8 March 2011
  

Most Xanthidae species are scavengers. It is very well possible they eat from corals and they will most definitely eat dying or dead animals. It is uncertain if they actively hunt fish, shrimps or other invertebrates.
They are also known to re-arrange your aquarium to build a suitable hide-out. Best is to keep this crab in a sump or in a filter chamber.

Tuesday I picked up two crabs from Sjaantje in trade for couple of Kenya Trees. She had no idea what kind they where.




This one already moved into another chamber of the sump :p

I got one person saying it looks like the Lophozozymus edwardsi. After looking around I must agree with him

Bought 4 new hermit crabs yesterday, 3 black ones and a orange one like I bought the day before. One black and the Orange one moved into the Red Sea Max, another black one moved into the frag/crab tank and the last one moved into the sump.



The hermit that moved into the frag/crab tank already had a hard time. The small red hermit I got the day before has no problems with the mud crab, but the new one got harassed right away. And also this crab, after moving him to the fragtank yesterday, bullied him this morning. I now placed a frozen fish in it that I normally feed to the anemone, hopefully the crabs will take that for dinner instead of my little hermit.

The crabs introduction to the tank.

He took the fish with him against the rock to eat from it.

The crab moved into a hole in the rock, he moves all his food into there as well. Currently feeding him frozen shrimp I bought at our local supermarket.

The crab moved into the frag part of the aquarium yesterday, this morning he seemed to have moved out of there again, but I havent found him yet. Hope he didnt find a way to escape the aquarium all together...hmm

Seemed like he moved over the fence, but he is back in his old spot again

Currently I have two members of the Xanthidae family located in my little crab aquarium, and I have been observing them and finding information about these “unwanted” creatures.

The Xanthidae family is one of the biggest crab families, it is divided in 13 sub families containing over 500 different species. These species are poisonous to eat since their toxins can’t be destroyed by heating/cooking. The Toxins come from bacteria living in symbioses with the crab, both from the Vibrio genus. There is no antidote for these toxins either and they will cause Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning. But on the other hand, they are not venomous, so they have no way to introduce their toxins by stinging or biting. Some species however do have hairs on them that can cause allergic reactions.

They can become anywhere between 5 and 10 centimetres and some of them are beautifully coloured. They move slowly and hide most of the times. Most of them are opportunistic feeders, the ones I have don’t bother much with any other invertebrates around them but do eat frozen shrimp and fish when provided. They once went for a smaller hermit crab but gave up when they noticed it was too much trouble. I do think they would go for fish or invertebrates that are alive but weakened.

In most aquariums species for this family are no threat. They could be a threat when you have animals that could feed on them, since I haven’t found any information on the effects of the toxins on other animals.
According to some websites they are not reef safe, but the only non-reef safe thing I noticed so far is that they enlarge their hiding spaces, making holes in life rock. This will of course weaken the rock making your reef weak with the risk of collapsing.

The two species I’m testing with are the very common Actaeodes tomentosus and the less common, but very nice looking Lophozozymus edwardsi. Both of them behave in the same way as far as I can tell so far and both fit in the description given above. Both live together with 2 smaller hermit crabs, 2 smaller turbo snails, a Babylon sand snail and a horseshoe crab. Only saw them take a swing at one of the hermits when it ran into them. Both are about 4 or 5 centimetres now, so actually rather big.

Yesterday evening the crab was enjoying his frozen shrimp under the moonlight

Yesterday our Sleeper Gold Head Goby died. My wife tried to save him by catching him when he was stuck against the overflow and put it in the crab tank. But when she told me in the evening and I took a look I saw him lying lifeless on the bottom.
I don’t know what did it for him, my wife said his fins seemed damaged so maybe another fish took him on, however he seemed very skinny to me, so maybe he couldn’t find food and starved to death. We will probably wait with another replacement until the dottyback is caught.

Someone was very happy however with the fact that the goby died, this was my Lophozozymus edwardsi. I figured since the poor fish died anyway he might as well serve as food, but where he was located the crabs couldn’t reach. So here is a movie of how the crab enjoyed my goby.


Now before people start saying that crabs eat fish…yeah they do, by they (mine at least) don’t bother with them until they are dead or very weak. They basically eat anything you smack in their face :p