Crab ID Please

[GatorWPB]

This guy has been hiding under my hammer for months now and I finally caught him with the lights on.
He looks alot like a mithrax, but is mostly white on his body. The yellow/brown is recent.
Anyone know what he is and if he is beneficial?
I was afraid he was gorilla, but now Im not too sure.
Id hate to destroy something that is not bad for my tank.
Maybe fuge him?

Thanks

 

[blot60]

When in doubt, Toss em out. You are right, it does look Mithraxesque.( Is that a word?) When it gets big it doesnt really matter what kind it is. I will do something you dont want it to do. Put it in your fuge.

 

[GatorWPB]

Thanks!
Do you think he will create any problems in the fuge? Ive got a couple snails... Will he get enough food in there?

 

[Poorcollegereef]

Not sure about the type, but I say fuge it just because it looks to have a face on it's shell, like a asian decoration print

 

[LeslieH]

If you know what part of the world it might have come from you could donate it to science. See my post at http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1028304

 

[nosferatu51]

Feed it to a puffer or something. I had one that looked JUST like that and I am POSITIVE he hunted down and killed a purple firefish pair I had in my tank. Since I removed him (he wasn't very big, just small mithrax sized) I haven't had any small fish disappear.
The fact that I witnessed the final 5 minutes of one of those firefish is what sold me on it. I was watching the tank at night and all of a sudden the firefish came bolting out of his sleeping area. His face was ripped up and actually LOOKED terrified if you can imagine a fish appearing scared. He darted around the tank before becoming sluggish and settling on the bottom. I tried putting him in a breeder net to isolate him and help him get better, but he was gone within the hour. This was the day after his mate disappeared and a mere 48 hours after putting both of them into the tank after QT.

 

[Reeses]

Leslie, I had no idea. How very cool.

Hmmmm, feed to puffer or donate to science and then enjoy the fruits of 150 proof liquor and get a tax deduction for it.......

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[GatorWPB]

He's some other pictures. Some other people have thought that he is a algae eater, like a mithrax.
He's still sitting in a tall drink glass. I give him some food and stir the water to keep it aerated till I figure out what to do with him.

 

[Poorcollegereef]

Science! You got to give it to science so they have an inventory of crabs so you will know if it is a fish murderer

 

[GatorWPB]

Haha, OK, Science or LFS...

 

[dc]

LOL, if you can't get it to Leslie, don't take it back to the LFS, it will just go to someone else and probably kill their stuff.

 

[GatorWPB]

Ive gotten to kinda like the little guy. Just dont want to flush him...

 

[fighton03]

I have seen a small fuzzy white crap lurking in my tank. Hangs out under the live rock. Never out in the open, just visions as it darts into a hole. It is a little less than an inch now, but I did not introduce it and have no idea what it is. I'm planning on moving all the live rock to my bigger tank soon. Is there a way I can get rid of it if it is hiding in the rocks when I move them? Can I do a fresh water or hypo dip or something without negatively affecting the beneficial life on the rock, that would cause the crab to eject?

 

[rustybucket145]

He looks like an algae eater to me. I'd promote him to the fuge, likely he will be happier there. Aslo I have several in my fuge and I have them trained to tong feeding. I give them some algae from time to time. And a special squid tread every now and then. Once they get used to you they will be in the open most of the time and you can really observe their behavior. Very interesting....

 

[GatorWPB]

Thanks for the advice all. Ill decide tonight what to do. Id hate to add him to my fuge to only go and start eating the fuge's inhabitants.

 

[rustybucket145]

If you keep him fed from time-to-time he won't touch any of the inhabitants. I have one gorrila crab in my fuge that could probably draw blood if it snapped me and (to my knowledge) he has never harmed anything in the fuge. Well.... except for the tip of the turkey baster when I try to give him some silversides or squid

Just keep him fed with algae and meat and he will be a happy docile member of your fuge community!

 

[rustybucket145]

Hell, if you decide to get rid of him, I'll pay shipping if you send him to me.