Hi! We have a crab that we would really like to identify. He has a story to go along with him. We have some friends who were interested in setting up their first saltwater tank, and they knew that we were saltwater junkies... er, enthusiasts. So, they got a tank from someone who was moving. They drove to another state to pick it up, in the middle of winter and then came back with it almost entirely empty in the back of a truck. When they got it home they started cleaning it out and found this very cold and almost lifeless crab in the sand at the bottom of the tank. They called us and we rushed over to pick him up. We brought him home with little hope of him living. He could hardly even move. I immediately threw him into the sick tank and hoped for the best.
Well, that was about 3 months ago and he is a happy healthy crab, but he is still living in the sick tank - thank goodness we haven't had any sick fish we needed to treat. I have looked at hundreds of crab pictures on the internet trying to identify him. I know that crabs of the same species can vary greatly, so I might have already looked at one of his cousins, but not realized it.
I just want to know what kind of crab he is, how big he will get, his probable temperament, etc. so we know which tank to move him to. I have included some pictures of him. Even though I have told him many times how beautiful he is, he still refuses to pose for a good picture, so I hope these pictures are good enough. In case the pictures are too bad - he is rust colored, his pincers are black, his eyes are small and hard to see. His carapace is about 1.5 inches across; he loves crack and peel shrimp and he is nocturnal. One picture is the best I could get of him from the front and the other is of his back. Thank you so much for your help!
Well, that was about 3 months ago and he is a happy healthy crab, but he is still living in the sick tank - thank goodness we haven't had any sick fish we needed to treat. I have looked at hundreds of crab pictures on the internet trying to identify him. I know that crabs of the same species can vary greatly, so I might have already looked at one of his cousins, but not realized it.
I just want to know what kind of crab he is, how big he will get, his probable temperament, etc. so we know which tank to move him to. I have included some pictures of him. Even though I have told him many times how beautiful he is, he still refuses to pose for a good picture, so I hope these pictures are good enough. In case the pictures are too bad - he is rust colored, his pincers are black, his eyes are small and hard to see. His carapace is about 1.5 inches across; he loves crack and peel shrimp and he is nocturnal. One picture is the best I could get of him from the front and the other is of his back. Thank you so much for your help!
Thank you so much for your help on this, SparkyTuna.
