2 x Crabs & 1 Shrimp for ID

[stu]

Ok so in relation to my other thread where i think something might be eating my Anemone...not 100% sure, i've decided to start pulling things out of my tank as i see them and put them in a specimen tank for now to try and ID them and see if my anemone improves.....or doesn't get any worse. CLICK FOR LARGER PICS

First up is crab #1 - This guy likes to live in one of my pieces of fossilised coral live rock that i have. It's a branchy piece and he likes to hide around the base and i pretty much never see him leave it, he just walks around and picks at it all day.



Crab #2 - Same as the first one, lives in the same fossilised piece of coral and i don't think i've ever seen it move away from there.



Shrimp #1 - This picture is really blurry because i have only ever seen this fellow once and i tried really hard to get a good pic of him at night when i found it, however it was really tricky where it was located. I'm hoping that from the white stripe though that someone might be able to ID it. It's moved from where i found it and i've not seen it since. Was probably about 1.5 inches long in total. It had a few white stripes down his body like you can see in the pic and also the end of his tail was white.





Any ideas? And also would and of these be the culprit for eating a bubble tipped anemone?

Cheers

 

[Fluff]

Your first crab looks like an algae eating crab, second crab definately a preditor. That said, both have the potential to be a problem as they grow but would make great additions to a sump area.
As for the shrimp, I really can't tell. Is it shaped like a typical shrimp? Can you give any more detail on its shape? Is it thick bodied with this claws?.

 

[stu]

Thanks for the info, both crabs will be staying in my specimen tank until i get my new tank with sump in a few weeks.

Lo and behold i got home this evening and all the lights were out so i decide to grab my torch and have a look...and who was sitting up in between my thermometer and the tank glass.... So i really quickly grabbed the net and got him out Not sure if this helps but the only real reason i can see for thim to be where he was is to eat algae maybe? As there is a fair bit of pink algae on my thermometer?

So here is a nice pic of it. (click for larger)



It actually looks quite nice in the light, i'd love to put him back in my tank but i will need to ID it before i do as i don't want it to hurt my Anemone, and if i have to i'll set up a small display tank just for these guys.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[Fluff]

That is a mantis shrimp and is a threat to other mobile inverts in your tank. If you got him out, keep him out as they are a real pain to catch. They are very interesting creatures though and extremely smart. If you can set up a display for him, that's what I would do. They are awesome animals.

 

[Fluff]

I just wanted to add, that is a very unique looking mantis. If possible, see if you can get a shot of it's front claws. I'm curious to see if it's a stabber or a smasher. If it's a smasher, adding the crabs to a tank with it would mean the death of the crabs. See if it's front appendages are rounded or pointed. And good luck with him. I really like the pattern on him.

 

[stu]

Thanks for your reply Fluff, i thought it may have been a mantis shrimp from the pics i scoured through, however the colouring was always very different on the pics i had seen.... I'll try and photo him tomorrow about the claws...this might seem stupid but he doesn't appear to have claws at the front though?

I'll post up tomorrow, as for the crabs they may come mantis food then if he decides to eat them tonight, as i can't put them back into my tank with the Anemone...so for tonight they share a tank. Tomorrow i will separate them in the tank as i don't want to get rid of either

I'm wondering if he ate my nudibranch which seems to have turned from 1 nudibranch into 2 and then both totally disappeared.....

 

[Fluff]

The front appendages may be hard to detect as they hold them up tight against themselves but, it will relax eventually and you'll be able to tell. Feed the mantis tonight, some raw fish or shrimp should be taken eagerly by him and the crabs. That may keep him from wanting to take out the crabs tonight. I don't mind admitting I'm a bit jealous. lol Good luck!

 

[stu]

Here is another pic i just tried to take of his underside.....difficult to photo because he is pretty small. This is the best i could get....i have to admit the little fins on the side look really nice Still can't tell if it's spears or clubs on his arms...

 

[Fluff]

Do you see what looks like whitish knuckes? I believe they are his clubs. Nice.

 

[Fluff]

There is an nice site for mantis called "The Lurkers Guide to Stomatopods". I found this guy in thier gallery and believe it could be the same species as yours. Just in case you were wanting the specific species name.

Haptosquilla trispinosus

 

[newfound77951]

Wow, I agree, very cool mantis and you were very lucky to catch him. I had one in my tank for a while and only saw him once, when I first put the LR in. Never saw him again but would hear the clicking.

 

[roka64]

One thing, be careful when you pick him up. He is small now but when he gets bigger, those puppies can hurt/harm.

 

[stu]

Thanks for all the info guys and gals

I'm a big wussy and won't touch him anyways, i always use the net My crabs are both fine, so i guess the mantis wasn't hungry. It's a bit of a pain that he has knuckles really, because i was hoping to keep all my inverts i pulled out my tank tank in one tank. Ah well, i will go get myself another really small tank for the crabs to live in for now.

 

[roka64]

I would get the tank for the mantis. Once larger, he may even munch on your fish.

 

[Fluff]

He has the mantis out of his main tank. I believe he means to buy another tank for oddball inverts so the mantis will be alone. ??

 

[stu]

That's correct however, i've had the mantis shrimp in the tank with the crabs now for 5 days and he hasn't gone near them....I've got my new tank setup now anyways so the crabs will be going in the sump as soon as my chemistry is right.

 

[Fluff]

Awesome. Keep us (me lol) posted on how the mantis is doing.