Crab ID Please, Pics included.

[megaspoot]

Anyone know what this guy is? He hasn't harmed my yellow head sleeper yet. They sometimes sleep under the same rock.

 

[Tennyson]

Cool looking, if it has hairs, I wouldn't trust it at all. I usually don't allow any hitchikers to live in my tank to avoid the risk of them being not reef safe. I'd leave them if they were commensal with corals, but you said you found yours under a rock, so it probably isn't a commensal.

If you have a fish only tank with live rock and some other crabs, shrimp or starfish, I wouldn't worry about it harming anything

 

[rssjsb]

Looks like a mithrax to me. Can you get a better shot of its claws?

 

[megaspoot]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11861870#post11861870 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tennyson
Cool looking, if it has hairs, I wouldn't trust it at all. I usually don't allow any hitchikers to live in my tank to avoid the risk of them being not reef safe. I'd leave them if they were commensal with corals, but you said you found yours under a rock, so it probably isn't a commensal.

If you have a fish only tank with live rock and some other crabs, shrimp or starfish, I wouldn't worry about it harming anything

It's not hairy. This is a fish only tank; he looks too small to harm my goby, as the crab in only the size of a quarter and the goby is 2.5".

 

[Tennyson]

Oh, so it should be OK in the tank. But I don't think that looks like a Mithrax crab. Wait, did you find it under a rock, or climbing around on a rock? But it should be ok with a fish only tank, I'd let it back in. If you have other big fish like triggers though, itll get eaten by them.

 

[megaspoot]

I found it under/in a rock. It was a nice little cave that it hides in. Rarely ever comes out. Only during feeding time to get pellets or other food.

 

[rssjsb]

The ends of the claws look rounded and scoop-shaped to me. Usually a sign of an algae scraper. That was the reason I said it looked like mithrax.

Also, hairy does not always equal bad.

 

[Guygettnby]

possibly a mithrax, but need a better shot of the claws. could also be some kind of rock crab. i have seen pictures of crabs like that on chucks addiction. you may wanna check that out for a better understanding.

oh yea, and like rssjsb said..... hairy does not always mean bad.

 

[megaspoot]

Thanks, looks exactly like the first crab on this page http://home2.pacific.net.ph/~sweetyummy42/hitchcrabs.html

does he pose a threat to fish?

 

[rlf_racing]

Bad crab, Bad crab! That is not reef safe. It looks so much like a stone crab I had. When I get a pic of mine loaded into photobucket I will post it.

 

[rlf_racing]

Here is my stone crab.

Here is my stone crab.

His main shell was almost four inches across. That is a 3" shrimp in its claws.

I hope this helps.

 

[megaspoot]

That thing is massive! I don't want to risk having it in my FOWLR anymore, so I'm going to de-claw it and feed it to the 2 puffers in my avatar

 

[LeslieH]

It is the same as the first crab on Chuck's website. Family Xanthidae. His information is correct about their feeding habits. I hope your puffers enjoyed their snack!

 

[megaspoot]

They did indeed. The crab's shell was a bit hard, as my puffers are still babies, so I cracked it open for them

 

[redhdmedic]

after finding my "reef-safe" (argh...I was so silly that day) emerald crabs dining away on my bangai cardinals...wasted no time hunting them down and feeding them to our porc. and triggers...I did lose a little sanity and perhaps some pride at being outwitted over and over by a crab...we noticed one of the same crab as above about a year ago inside one of our rocks in thte reef...now the bugger is running amuck in my reef with a few other undesirable hitchhikers...mine is considerably smaller tha yours and just as elusive as (if not even more so than) the emerald crabs. Anyon with mad-crab-catching-skills out there have anything to share? Sorry to tag onto your post...but at least now I know I'm not the only one! LOL