? about symbiotic crab and Turbinaria reniformis

[dc_909]

I have a Turbinaria reniformis that has what appears to be a small crab, roughly the size of small fly, living amongst the coral. He seems to have formed a sort of cave in which the coral grows around. Has anyone seen this before or have links to info on this matter. I'm mainly concerned if I should attempt to remove him or let him be.

 

[capncapo]

Do a search on "gall crab". I believe that it is what you've got.

I would recommend removing it if you determine that it is, in fact, a gall crab.

 

[dc_909]

I'll check it out, Thanks

 

[kmk2307]

Does it look like a hermit crab or a 'regular' crab?

 

[dc_909]

I believe its a "gall crab". The info I found on the web matches pretty close to what I can see. Its very, very small and looks like a regular crab, but you can only see its tiny pinchers every now and then