id for little dude

[BigRedDog1934]

here is a crab in my tank that i have been leaving alone. he's got a real purple color to him but i dont know if he is a rock crab or what. anyway he's got a good style about him weaving his way around the tank.

 

[BigRedDog1934]

can people see this okay? i am just learning how to post photos and i dont know why mine dont appear within my post.

 

[aquarius77]

I see it, just had to click the link, but I cant help id it.

 

[BigRedDog1934]

thanks. its from tbs rock in florida and is about 3/4 the size of a dime.

 

[Paintbug]

that looks like it could be a coral crab of some kind. im not sure, if it is these guys live in/around stony corals usually. they stay small, and usually wont harm anything. they will eat meaty foods, but they live on the coral to eat the mucus coat from the coral.
heres the pic:

 

[TearDrop]

It looks like some kind of coral crab to me too. My philosophy with crabs or any other unknown is: when it doubt, yank it out....

 

[BigRedDog1934]

i am kind of surprised that we cant get a real id on this guy. i am pretty new to the hobby but did quite a few searches and came back with nada.

as far as his behavior, he likes the rock right at the sand line. he shaps the sand pretty thouroughly and really doesnt even get on the rock too much.

i have the same polic about crabs in my tank and hunt gorrilla and rock crabs nightly. this dude seems harmless at this point, and because he is right in the front of the tank and easily watched i think ill keep him on for a bit longer. thats unless i can figure out what kind of dude he is.

thanks for the feedback.

 

[SurfatC3G]

I had one exactly like that in my tank for the longest time. He would just stay in my main ricordia rock and wave his claws around. I would see him at night on that same rock just picking away at what seemed like nothing. My rics always looked great. I haven't seen him since I fragged about 1/4 of that rock. I had him for at least 8-12 months.

 

[SuperNerd]

BigRedDog1934:

What type of LR did it come in on?
If you don't want it send it to me! How much to ship to Cali?

 

[BigRedDog1934]

it is from tampa bay saltwater nerd. i am encouraged by surfrat's post and think that ill be keeping him around for a bit. he has a great little manner about him walking arounf the bottom of the rock and my wife has taken a liking to him. until i can see him doing some damage i think that he'll stay part of the family. he did scrap a bit with a hermit today but it looked liked only show.

by the way surfat, did he get any bigger over that time? as long as he stays mild mannered i dont really see a problem with this one dude. thats cool!

 

[kass03]

Nothing wrong with keeping it unless it causes a problem.
That's what I would do and just keep an eye on it.

kass

 

[Zoos]

I don't know what it is, but it sure is nice.

 

[SurfatC3G]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8222333#post8222333 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BigRedDog1934
it is from tampa bay saltwater nerd. i am encouraged by surfrat's post and think that ill be keeping him around for a bit. he has a great little manner about him walking arounf the bottom of the rock and my wife has taken a liking to him. until i can see him doing some damage i think that he'll stay part of the family. he did scrap a bit with a hermit today but it looked liked only show.

by the way surfat, did he get any bigger over that time? as long as he stays mild mannered i dont really see a problem with this one dude. thats cool!

Nope he stayed very small. If there was a size increase it wasn't very obvious.