Hitchhicking crab

[Scatcat]

Well I was feeding today and I noticed a dead crab in my tank. It's sand colored kinda tan and brown. Should I be glad it didn't make it?

Rachel

 

[Fluff]

I'm not sure you should be glad but certainly I wouldn't be heart broken over it. Are you sure it's the crab and not a molt?

 

[Scatcat]

Well I looked at it again I took it out and it crumbled so I'm going with a molt. Hummm, what kind of crab do you think this is? Should I leave it alone or try to catch it? I already have a strawberry crab will they fight?

Rachel

 

[Fluff]

It's up to you what you do. Crabs are controversial. Most are rather harmless while small and will scavage. Some are filter feeders and considered always safe. Really need to try and identify the type of crab you have first. What color/type of claw does it have? Were they flat? Does it have black tips or where the very points of the claws flat? Any way to get a pic?

 

[Scatcat]

To many questions LOL. I don't know now I crushed the shell when trying to see if it was a molt or a dead crab. I was a tan color with brown on it. I don't remember what the claws looked like either. I'll try to do a search and see if I can identify it.

Rachel

 

[Fluff]

Ok. Check out wetwebmedia.com and search hitchhiker crabs. They have a good many pictures on there.

 

[JPloman]

I think it is very unsetteling when you go into your tank and grab the molt of a crab. I always freak out and think it is going to bite me...

 

[Scatcat]

Tell me about it. I'm sitting here looking at it thinking ok I know I didn't buy that so were did it come from. Then it's just sitting there and I'm thinking ok it's dead it has to be it was perfectly in tact eyeballs and everything. So then I'm thinking I'm not going to touch it. So I get a spoon and take it out. Then I think I know I'll let my husband look at it and tell me if there's anything in the shell until I got the nerve up to smush it and sure enough just a shell. Very freaky I wonder what else is yet so show up.

Rachel

 

[Brisc0]

My friend who has a reef used to talk about this black hitcher he had in his reef tank with very hairy legs and huge claws and how he was really afraid of it. Well, he passed an orange encrusting monti on to me about 8 months ago, and I guess the little guy took a ride to my house. Its about 4.5" across now and looks mean as mean can be, however I have watched it and its harmless. Still spooks me when I get to probing around my tank with a flash light at night and come across it though. Aside from that I think I have two hitcher crabs living in a cauliflower and another half dozen in various acropora and montis. So they are not always all bad.

 

[Scatcat]

LOL I don't know if I can stick my hand in my tank with that in there. Hairy legs no thanks.

Rachel

 

[Brisc0]

Ah, it wouldn't seem so bad if you knew my wife.

 

[Brisc0]

I had better add J/K in there somewhere for posterity sake.
*Edited*
I just went in with the maglite poking around and found both of the black ones on opposite sides of the tank. Sorry bout the pic quality, but its really really dark down here in the basement.

 

[Fluff]

Brisco, I could be way off, I'm no expert on crabs for sure but, the white tips on your black crabs claws make me think it is some type of mythrax crab. Simular to the emeralds. One lfs I frequent has a huge black mythrax crab in one of their coral tanks. I agree, not all crabs are bad, which is why I was trying to help with an ID.

 

[Scatcat]

That is one scary looking crab. But if it's harmless that what the heck. I hope this one is not shy. If I ever see it again I will try to take a picture and see what I have. Thank you all for trying to help. I'll keep him until I catch him doing something like eating corals.

Rachel