hey, im trying to get some xenia growing in my tank, and I think I saw my hermit eating at it, AND now its gone...

HELP

No crab is 100% reef safe. On the other hand, crabs are opportunistic and will eat a coral or fish that is sick and dying. Was the Xenia declining and the crab just took advantage or did the crab actually cause the decline?

Personally, I don't use any type of crab in my system. Snails can and will do just as good a clean up as crabs without the worry of damage to coralline algae or corals.

in my 29 gallon I have 45 (last head count) crabs and 20 (last head count) snails. Sounds like overkill but there is NO algae in my tank. If one dies.......which happens about once a month the others eat it. Ive never had a crab eat a coral....If you get a decorator crab they will propogate for you, they pick the reef off put it on them and when they get tired of it they plop it somewhere else.

I don't know how many but there are a bunch of Nassarius, Brown Blotch, Turbo,Astrea, Bummble Bee and Stomatella snails.

Also, Mexican Red Leg Hermits (C. Digueti) are known to eat Coralline and enough of them can strip live rock clean of coralline algae. So if you can't stand your rocks being all pink and purple, throw in a bunch of Mexican red legs and watch the rock turn a pretty grey color.