crab id

[andrewkw]

this guy is big, at least 2" and looks evil, and never leaves the rocks. I might have had 2 as i found 2 smaller claws but it might just be a couple molts ago for this one. He's killed my starfish and perhaps my emerald crab. Hermits and snails and shrimp are still alive however I am growing concerned about my fish as this guy gets bigger and bigger. I don't really want to tear my tank down but I don't think I can catch him otherwise as he is probably too big to fit in a bottle and never completely leaves the security of the rock either.

the alive ones claws are much bigger

 

[mamagoose45]

I'm no expert, but I would take a pretty good guess and say that he is a European Green Crab (they don't really look green, more often look deep brown or black). We recently noticed a similar looking crab hiding in the rock work at one of our LFS and pointed him out to the owner. He quickly grabbed a pair of forceps and was on a mission to get him the heck out of the tank. The crab managed to get away be sneaking into a hole in the rock but not before having his claw ripped off so I didn't get a good whole-body look at him, but the claw looks VERY similar to the one in your picture. From what our LFS guy said - get him out of your tank as soon as possible as they are a menace to a reef tank.

Even if it isn't a European Green Crab, as a general rule I would say that an unidentified crab is guilty until proven innocent.

 

[charlesr1958]

It could be either a mithrax or xanthid species, neither of which you want in your system as you are finding out. The best or quickest method to remove it is to just take out the rock it is hiding in and force it out of its hiding place.

Chuck's Hitch Hikers

 

[JackKerouac]

My LFS has 2 of this guys in a reef tank for one year till now,he never did anything bad on that tank.If you don't notice problems I would let it in the tank.IMHO

 

[AnimaliA]

My guess would be a type of xanthid crab (rock crab? an accurate ID is almost impossible). Regardless...you will want it out of your tank ASAP. They love snacking on corals...fish...anything expensive... :\

Wait until about an hour or two after everything is dark...it should be a little more daring and come out into the open. Unfortunately there is the potential of having to move rockwork to get to it. My favourite tools for removal are wood skewers and 10in tweezers...happy hunting

 

[andrewkw]

i had to take out a lot of rock and remove corals that were nicely mounted but i got him

here are the pics

MG]http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y234/andrewkw/crab/Picture085.jpg[/IMG]

 

[AnimaliA]

Congrats! I know it's a pain to have to move all that rock...but it is worth it in the long run

 

[Reefing102]

definatly a form of Xanthid

 

[xxtriggermanxx]

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup::thumbsup: :thumbdown:
four outta five thumbs agree , let him live .Just send him to the fuge!