Where's Waldo?

[djmuzzi]

 

[Jordan55]

If he didn't have those big antennas, it would work.... good picutre though.... is he stalking that hermit?

 

[Gonodactylus]

It appears to be a Haptosquilla. Do you know the species?

Roy

 

[djmuzzi]

I know almost nothing about them. This guy seems to be marbled blue & gray. No other distinguishing features I can see except for his antenae are very vividly striped.....

& yes he is stalking the hermit... Moments later he had a collosal battle with my arrow crab....

 

[djmuzzi]

Another shot....

 

[Gonodactylus]

It is definitely a Haptosquilla, probably something like H. trispinosa. These guys are pretty secretive and rarely come very far out of their cavities to feed. They often will block their cavity entrance using their flattened tail. If you can get a shot of the telson, that is the best way to identify them.

Roy

 

[djmuzzi]

I was surprised how fast he can burrow through live rock! He created a new burrow overnight!

Please excuse my ignorance but is the telson the fin section of the tail? (my marine biology class used to start at 7:30am).

Any advice on what to do with him? I assume he will start killing my fish? I have him in quarentine now...

 

[Gonodactylus]

The telson is the last segment of the body. In this case, it will be flatened with three bumps on the dorsal surface.

Most species of Haptosquilla do not get very large - under two inches - and they are fairly long-lived - at least three or four years. In my expereince, if reasonably well fed, they are not particularly aggressive towards fish larger than themselves. Like I said earlier, they tend to remain in their cavity and snatch prey that come near the entrance. When I have kept them with fish, the fish generally learned to stay away from the cavity and all was fine.

Roy

 

[djmuzzi]

So... If I put him back, just expect a high "turnover" in my cleanup crew.