I need a crab ID

[Devilishturtles]

Found this little crab molt in my tank this afternoon. Thought I rid myself of all the crabs before I set up this tank, but I guess a new one tucked into some of the new liverock I got. I don't see how it could have survived. The water I cured the rock in was so nasty, and ammonia was so high, but it somehow made it.

Anyways, I attached some pictures, but the crab is very small right now. Entire length in the picture is less than half an inch is my guess. The crab is a light orangish/pinkish color with the same colored claws (not typical black claws) and pink/red striped legs.

Any ideas? Or is this one of those crabs that will go down in history as unidentified?

 

[Ziggy953]

I have a crab just like that in my tank...he stays inside the branches of my pink Pociliapora..kinda like it's guardian...I have no idea what it's called but it looks exactly like that...very small maybe a little larger then a nickle. I saw them on DSC defending a coral against the Crown of Thorns Star fish....sorry I couldn't help more...

 

[Devilishturtles]

Hmm, thanks for the info Ziggy! I'll look more into that and see if it helps with an ID. I'm just really curious how it could have lasted on my liverock, that stuff was killer. Maybe it hitched on a coral, though my only branching sps is a birdnest that is on it's way out, so maybe that's why I'm seeing the shell.

 

[Nikkiheartsfish]

It's an acroporid crab. I see them a lot, the smooth ones I'm pretty sure are safe, at best they pick at the mucus of the acropora. The hairier ones IMO are more aggressive, polyp eating. I could be wrong, but it's definitely the kind of crab that hosts to acroporas and related SPS, anything with enough branches to protect it.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Hmm, cool. Thanks a lot Nikki. Only branching sps that I have right now is a birdnest that I'm battling hair algae on. I didn't QT the corals, but I suppose it's possible he hitched in on that and was just so small I never noticed it.

Thanks again!

 

[Nikkiheartsfish]

Yeah, I've definitely seen them in Bird's nest, too. Forgot to mention that. They love birds nest actually, because they are so protected in them.