My favorite hitchhiker (pics)

[Zoos]

Hello i just wanted to share some pictures of this little guy he's been in my tank for over 6 months, he must have came on a piece of coral or rock, when i first saw him he must have been 1/4" now he's a about 1/2" i watch him closely to make sure he doesn't bother anything and he doesn't. He looks like a predatory crab or something that's just NOT reef safe but he is some cute, i cannot part with him. regardless I've really taken a liking to him so i don't plan on getting rid of him, if anyone knows exactly what species he is LMK. you can get an idea of how big he is by looking at the bead of silicone he walks on and the small zoos in the picture. he looks like a tiny stone crab or a little shame faced crab. I am in the process of setting up a new tank, when i do i plan on having a smaller tank connected to it that will become his permanent home. he is bright orange white and blue with some hints on yellow, the pictures don't do him any justice.
Enjoy!

 

[supervdl]

very cool, never seen a crab with this camouflage

 

[Zoos]

I know isn't he cool, and it's hard to capture his color, he is bright orange with a blue outline.

 

[nosferatu51]

That is an awesome looking crab. That's saying a lot because I've grown a serious distrust of crabs after one ate a mated pair of purple firefish I had.

 

[LeslieH]

He's a gaudy clown crab, Platypodiella spectabilis, found in the tropical Atlantic. As with most crabs there's the possibility that he will damage other critters so keeping an eye an him is an excellent idea.

 

[scunan]

very cool crab, he looks like a clownfish crab lol

 

[Zoos]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9444907#post9444907 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LeslieH
He's a gaudy clown crab, Platypodiella spectabilis, found in the tropical Atlantic. As with most crabs there's the possibility that he will damage other critters so keeping an eye an him is an excellent idea.

Do you know how big he gets? I looked around and not much info on him, I did a search for "gaudy clown crab" on WWM and they are suggesting he might feed on zoas, I will keep a close eye on him. I don't plan on getting rid of him, if I have to setup a species tank for him I will. any more info on this little guy would be great
thanks

 

[reefworm]

got a sump or refugium? if a mantis shrimp can find a home this guy can. he's pretty cool looking, but, yeah, he's probably trouble.

 

[LeslieH]

They stay small, an inch or two, and they do eat zoanthids. In fact, they're among the few predators that can tolerate the palytoxin produced by zoanthids and can incorporate it into their own bodies. I don't know if they only eat zoanthids or if they will switch to something else when their preferred food is absent.

 

[Zoos]

Thanks Leslie. Well i must say that i have some pretty nice zoas, and they haven't been affected at all (or at least not that i could tell) My zoas must grow at a faster rate than he can consume them. In your opinion do you think he could harm my colonies in the long run? Lets look at it this way he has been in there for at least 6 months and I can actually say that most of my zoas have spread not depleted, I ask because i can setup the side tank with a couple of rocks covered in zoas, if he can eat at a slower rate than they grow than I'm good, but i don't know if his appetite will catch up to the zoas as he grows.

 

[Joe LoPresti]

Too bad he eats zoas, because he is without a doubt the coolest looking crab I have ever seen too!!! I didn't know crabs got that colorful...
I don't blame you Zoos, I'd wanna keep him too, even if you have to create a little tank just for him!!! Good luck!!

 

[LeslieH]

Zoos, sounds like he's not a problem for you. When the colony is large & healthy enough one small crab won't do much harm.

 

[CeeGee]

I have a very cool crab as well. I found him after being hidden for 8 months and he survived living in a trash can for a long long time (without me feeding him/her) while I was waiting to set up my tank. I have caught him and he lives in my fuge.

 

[Zoos]

Thanks guys i will keep you posted with him, and even though it won't be for a while when i do setup my new tank and his i will post some pictures for you all to see.

 

[samson78945]

i was just looking at my tank with the lights off and noticed two new hitch hikers on my montipora!! two baby crabs!! ill let all u know more when i know more

 

[Zoos]

Any pictures or a description?

 

[davidryder]

umm.. that thing is really awesome

 

[Peter Eichler]

I have a blue and purple bristleworm that's about a foot long, he's my favorite. Hell, I even cheer him on when he's trying to get some food when I feed the tank Very cool little crab by the way.

 

[danceswithfish]

Neat crab!

 

[BrianCM]

Cool Crab!