ID Crab Plz

[fishguy449]

WHat is this guy? Is he reef safe. Found him inside a piece of lr.

 

[capncapo]

Not reef safe. Very, very few crabs are.

 

[fishguy449]

the guy i got the tank and l/r from says even though he was not aware of the crab (i found him hiding i a rock while in my q-tank), that he was not aware of any damage from the crab in the tank for the 2 years he had it. Is anyone able to identify this thing? Maldive, rock, ?

 

[Martin's Reef]

I have two of them in my tank that I have not been able to get out! They have never messed with anything.

 

[fishguy449]

martin, i accidentally caught mine. while procrastinating about making a trap as has been descibed in many threads, he crawled into a 1/2 pint mason jar that i was using to hold the sponge filter down with in my q-tank. if i had just baited the jar, i prolly would have caught him sooner. something must be looking out after fools like me lol.

 

[Poorcollegereef]

the flat hind legs suggest that this is a "free swimming" crab and I am unaware of any free swimming crabs that are not preditory. A couple of months ago I came across a book which listed specimens to avoid that that crab looks like one of the ones that I saw, but im not sure.

 

[LeslieH]

ItÃ"šÃ‚´s a xanthid and it is predatory. the amount of damage he does is probably limited by his small size. If he continues to grow he may become a problem.

 

[fishguy449]

Thanks to all for the replies. Now, what to do with this critter.

 

[deepbluesea99]

id ditch him ray,if in doubt pitch it out.

 

[DensityMan]

Send it my way or to a local reefer with a hungry mantis...