Creepy Crab ID

[Cutiewitbooty]

This crab was a hitchiker on some LR I bought off a guy who had it in his tank. He told me there might be a crab in there (he found it somewhere in the florida keys). Well I found it and it's really creepy. I'm almost 100% it's not reefsafe, i'm sure he can do alot of damage with thoes claws and he looks hungry.... Well here is the pic, he doesn't quite look like any crab i have seen around here, maybe a gorella (sp?) crab? He grabs rocks and your fingers with thoes back legs, so i wont touch him, he really likes to hold on. :lol: I'm sure he must think it's funny whe he holds on and i scream and shake him off my hand, guess he likes free flying lessons

 

[Dubbin1]

Looks like a bad guy. Put him in the sump.

 

[aquaman67]

Looks like a gorilla crab to me.

 

[Cutiewitbooty]

he's in the sump now, there is no way i'm putting him in my main tank, corals or not

 

[fambrough]

Xanthid sp. almost certainly, note the carapice shape and black tipped claws.

Here is a better image of a related species.

I have one in my tank that is very small and growing rapidly. It stays well protected in the rock work. I am developing ideas for a trap. They are not reef safe and should be removed.

Best of luck.
Ben

 

[Cutiewitbooty]

oh yeah he's even got thoes backwards shaped back legs for grabing stuff. Probally not the exact same species as the pic but deff related. Guess he will stay in my sump or into the freezer if he causes to much trouble.

 

[schristi69]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6498207#post6498207 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fambrough
Xanthid sp. almost certainly, note the carapice shape and black tipped claws.

Here is a better image of a related species.

I have one in my tank that is very small and growing rapidly. It stays well protected in the rock work. I am developing ideas for a trap. They are not reef safe and should be removed.

Best of luck.
Ben

I did the old glass bottle trick and got one out of my tank the other day. He has been in the tank a month, molted once and this was only the second time I saw him. They are VERY smart. It was VERY slow to get in the bottl and held on to the edge with his hind legs. He got to the end of the narrow part of the bottle and started to come back out so I snatched the bottle out of the tank and had to shove it down with a stick. It now lives in the quarantine tank till I get my sump up and running.

 

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

ugly lil' booger

 

[supernareg]

ya, bad crabs, not reef safe. i took 1 out, with a small rock and flushed it with freshwater got it out. i didnt know what it was, so i left it floating ontop of my water over night and i found it submersed with crab gone in morning then i found out it was bad. lol