Do you know this crab?

[MrMikeB]

A buddy of mine took this picture in hopes of trying to identify this crab. He says it was a hitchhiker on some LR and only sees it at night scouring the rock for some food. He found two of them in his tank off the same rock presumably.

At first I thought it was some sort of Acro crab given the small size and shape, but I am not too sure. I was also thinking porcelain, but it does not have fans.

 

[matttaylor]

gorilla crab. no good.

 

[MrMikeB]

You telling me with that cute lil face, he is up to no good? Just look at the little devil - posing for the camera for all to see.

 

[jedininja]

Dont have an exact ID, but you can tell its a predatory crab. Just look at the sharp claws.

And it has an evil look in its eyes!

 

[brianbigoats]

Red eyes =Bad

 

[MrMikeB]

Not too sure its a Gorilla crab - did not see the hairy legs. What about a Xanthid or rock crab?

 

[funman1]

Looks predatory for sure.
I'm sue he'd be good for a sump / fuge though.

 

[edsimmons]

I think the common name is "clown crab" I've seen pic of it in The Reef Aquarium Vol.2 if I remenber correctly they live on/in colonys of Paly's and eats Palythoa.

Looks eeevvviiiiiilllll.

 

[MrMikeB]

Dont clown crabs, well, look like clowns? Like clownfish?

 

[matttaylor]

how big is it? It's predatory, and should be removed. I had one a long time ago and it ate my snails and hermits, so i removed it.

 

[MrMikeB]

Pretty small, no more than an inch across.

 

[edsimmons]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9483592#post9483592 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MrMikeB
Dont clown crabs, well, look like clowns? Like clownfish?

Not like clown fish but the pics i've seen they are very bright colors red,yellow,white.But i'm sure ther are many diffrent genus of "Clown crab" w/ a wide varity of colors.

 

[bkmorris]

i agree, anything with glowing red eyes would earn a trip into the sump from me....

 

[jlfnjlf]

Hey he looks like my uncle Frank...

Mike,

I have no idea what it is but it does look cool. You need a sump window so you can watch it in your sump.

John

 

[MrMikeB]

Being an equal opportunity reefer, policy prevents me from:

"...discriminating against invert inhabitants based on genus, color of their carapaces, the shape of their chelipeds, the look of their zoea, or the color of their eyes - even if they glow an evil red."

Seriously though, the consensus is to send this little packing?

 

[edsimmons]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9484099#post9484099 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jlfnjlf
Hey he looks like my uncle Frank...

lol that's funny

I say if you can get'em out.

 

[funman1]

Yep send him on a vacation to where it's always sunny; in the fuge.
(Run the fuge lights 24/7)

 

[kevin95695]

I'm going to a crab feed tomorrow night. He's welcome to join me.

 

[MrMikeB]

Ha!!!

I might take him from my buddy's system and try and train him as a guard crab for the sump. Surprisingly (to me) many crabs are capable of rudimentary association. For example, I have just about trained a couple of my emeralds to eat from my hand and allow me to pet them. Its kind of hit or miss at this point, but they seem to be catching on. A little seaweed and late night training does wonders. You should also see what I have my shrimp doing... amazing creatures and always a crowd pleaser.

I really should not be sharing this information, should I?

 

[Nu2SW]

He looks like a mean little devil,,,,,