QUESTION lollipop crab (Ixa cylindrus )

[Mrs B]

Hi everyone i just wanted to know if anyone has had one of these unusual crabs before?
Im thinking of getting one soon as i love unusual inverts.

I cant seem to find much info regarding these crabs,but what i do know is they are reef safe and they eat left over food in your tank.
If you have anymore info on these or you have had one please tell me more about them.

Thanks

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=308557&stc=1&d=1424505469

 

[Betta132]

I've never seen one of those. However, all crabs are opportunistic. If they are physically capable of eating something, they usually will. Those little dudes don't appear to have claws, but I'd still be cautious about them being around any small/slow fish.

 

[Calappidae]

I have seen them before. We call them hammerhead crabs due to their appearence similar to a hammerhead shark.

They do have claws in the front, just VERY difficult to see.. actually in the front it looks like the one's left arm is injured.

Like above said, they can grab fish, but they maintain a small size and their claws aren't amazing enough to grab everything. They get around the size of an emerald crab and their claws are very similar to an arrow crab's.

 

[Betta132]

So it's a reasonably fish-safe crab that looks really cool? Why is the hobby not flooded with these things? I mean, we have at least two kinds of definitely-not-fish-safe crabs for sale...

 

[Calappidae]

Their distribution is pretty lack luster and the demand is pretty low. Knowledge on them is very poor.. which results in customers not being well informed enough to invest in them. Not to mention the crabs are, to be blunt, the opposite of pretty so not too many people see appeal in a crab that does nothing and looks weird. Atleast pom poms and the like have interesting characteristics that catch your eye.. these crabs only catch your eye by the odd shape of their body.