Check out this crab!!!

[Musbtr1pin]

Can anyone explain this? My buddy says he has never seen anything like it before anywhere, so I figured I'd share it with you all.

This is one of my crabs that rummages around for food all day long. Check out his shell! Filter Feeders?? Tube worms? This is soo coool!:dance:

 

[SushiGirl]

Hydroids.

 

[Musbtr1pin]

SA weet

 

[Ron Reefman]

I've seen a couple odd things on crabs, but that's a look I've never seen. I had a hermit with a kenya tree coral growing on it's shell and this decorator crab carried around this sponge for months.

 

[JamesH831]

Hydroids.

+1 I had em on the shells of some snails. They also colonized in the substrate and on the rock.

 

[SushiGirl]

SA weet

You might want to google hydroids LOL.

 

[tkeracer619]

You might want to google hydroids LOL.

Yup, I would have that crab out in no time.

 

[JamesH831]

I agree with the above. I must have tossed 12-15 snails and siphoned out any in the sand and rock. However, there was a small patch of them behind my rock work, that I couldn't get to. I was forced to leave it. It eventually "disappeared" and I haven't seen anymore in over a year.

 

[Musbtr1pin]

So Hydroids are bad then huh? I need to get this guy outta my tank then? What could possibly happen otherwise?

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

So Hydroids are bad then huh? I need to get this guy outta my tank then? What could possibly happen otherwise?

The hydroids could spread to your live rock.

 

[BowieReefer84]

There are two types of hydroids. The hard tube, and the softer ones. I have the hard ones in my tank, and they don't seem to spread. My corals grow over them just fine. If I could avoid them I would (definately remove that crab), but they are not as bad as the soft ones or aptasia/majano imo.

Only thing is nothing eats them ime, unlike pepermints etc with aptasia...

 

[Musbtr1pin]

I put him in my QT Tank.... I don't have any other place for him unless I flush him down the drain... I really don't want to do that, it's not his fault, his shell is contaminated !

 

[SushiGirl]

He'll molt eventually, then you can toss the molt.

 

[Pants]

If you want to get him out of the shell there are a few tricks. Warm water will often get them to abandon their shells. Holding the end of the shell against something warm like a light bulb can also work. There are some other more complicated tricks if those don't work out for you.

Just be sure to have a variety of nice new shells on hand for him to flee into.