Hi guys, glad you like Brutus, fondly known around here as Crabzilla!!!
He is a Stone crab from off the Florida coast. I got him with some liverock I ordered.
He is fully capable of breaking 1/2 inch glass right now!
I keep him undisturbed most of the time and I feed him very well, so he is content for now but needs to move to bigger quarters ASAP.
I gave him a 10" branched SPS Acropora species that bleached, it would require me to use a large pair of side cutters and 2 hands squeezing as hard as I could to break off a branch of this coral, he turned it into 1/4 inch pieces in less than an hour. My heart was pounding each time I heard the POP/CRACK of his claws! He turned the whole coral base and all into rubble. He also split a big chunk off that rock in his tank! Not only that, but one day he decided to eat the plumbing! He snapped chunks of the 1.5" schedule 80 PVC off! He shreds a full grown 4" Sea urchin in minutes! He is totally ]v[onster!!!
When he was in the 180g in the main tank I watched him move a 12lbs rock 4-6" and he was half the size he is now! I pulled that rock out and weighed it and it was just over 12lbs. He moved it like it was a feather! Notice in the video how easily he moves that 6" rock with his legs, his claws are 100X's more powerful! He also completely understands leverage. He turns sideways and can pop the whole glass lid off the tank, light and all with one hit!
I used to wrestle with him with a toothbrush, until he snapped it in half in about 1.5 seconds!!!! I do not mess with him too much and try not hurt him when I have to wrestle something away from him! I could not imagine what pain he would cause if he catches my hand during maintenance. He usually just chases me back and forth while i clean the glass. I had a magnet cleaner, but he ate it! All that was in the tank was the magnet and half of the plastic case!!!! That video was boring, I will try to video us moving him when the time comes!!!!
I am afraid he may try to pick the epoxy coatings off the wood or try to borrow thru it. Those legs are designed to dig thru layers of sand so he can bury himself when he sleeps and tries to ambush prey. I think if he felt anything with give he would dig, dig, dig!!!
I have to do something as I can not justify a $1200 acrylic cube.
