hole in body of emeral crab...

[gizmo]

Hmm... I noticed that my emerald crab has a hole on the side of it's body (shell). I can see the guts (white stuff) inside. He appears to be still picking stuff off the live rocks and eating it. Run really fast. I'm guess my puffer took a bite out of it. Will the emerald survive and mold a new shell and heal itself (that's if the puffer doesn't get to it first)?

--Tony

[phistio]

it depends on the location and severity of the hole on the emerald...sooner or later that emerald is gonna be a snack for your puffer...

if you were to place the emerald in a Qtank, and supplement a slight exposure to iodine (i.e kelp with vitamins and a touch of iodine) it would encourage the emerald to moult...and i'd say he'll naturally heal the wound in two moults...just my opinion...good luck!

[BigE]

Well I couldn't say if he'll live but when he molts the shell should regrow back to its normal covering. As long as the crab didn't have a lot of internal damage I would expect he'll be ok.

[gizmo]

cool thanks... I hope he'll recover because I was starting to like him. Judging by the way he's moving around and snacking, I think he'll be ok. My puffer really has a thing with crabs and snails. He doesn't touch anything else like peppermints, cleaners, and softies but never leaves the others alone.

--Tony