A friend gave me a brackish/salt crab from his tank that he had caught in the intercoastal (Florida/ Fort lauderdale). I am not sure I want to keep it as I dont have any idea what it is. unfortunately I dont have any pics and havent found any identical one on the internet though the below is similar.
color-wise he matched this:
http://www.enature.com/fieldguide/s...pID=8&shapeID=1063&curPageNum=1&recnum=SC0005
shape wise he is a bit closer to the green crab also pictured on that site, which has similar thinner claws and legs to mine but much darker coloring than mine:
http://www.enature.com/fieldguide/s...pID=8&shapeID=1063&curPageNum=5&recnum=SC0009
What I have is about 1inch wide by about 3/4 deep body, with about 3/4 to 1inch legs. Very similar to the above image in shape and color, with the shell being slightly lightly brown and only the front claws showing any color, not the legs. The legs are thinner than the above image, and the claws thin but a bit longer - more like the green-crab. The odd thing with this crab is that he only has the claws and then 3 sets of legs, not 4. unless the rear have both been lost (not expected) or are just stubs or something. personality-wise, it likes to bury itself in the sand/gravel with just the eyes visible and try to grab anything that goes by in the water. this is the worry part for me - I dont want something aggresive and/or that is going to grow to a large size, but if he stays the same size I can deal with the aggresion by possibly moving to a different tank - I have a 2nd reef tank that will soon be ready for an occupant
anyways the above site is the best I have found for pics but still nothing exactly matching mine. any help on identifying will be appreciated.
Patrick
color-wise he matched this:
http://www.enature.com/fieldguide/s...pID=8&shapeID=1063&curPageNum=1&recnum=SC0005
shape wise he is a bit closer to the green crab also pictured on that site, which has similar thinner claws and legs to mine but much darker coloring than mine:
http://www.enature.com/fieldguide/s...pID=8&shapeID=1063&curPageNum=5&recnum=SC0009
What I have is about 1inch wide by about 3/4 deep body, with about 3/4 to 1inch legs. Very similar to the above image in shape and color, with the shell being slightly lightly brown and only the front claws showing any color, not the legs. The legs are thinner than the above image, and the claws thin but a bit longer - more like the green-crab. The odd thing with this crab is that he only has the claws and then 3 sets of legs, not 4. unless the rear have both been lost (not expected) or are just stubs or something. personality-wise, it likes to bury itself in the sand/gravel with just the eyes visible and try to grab anything that goes by in the water. this is the worry part for me - I dont want something aggresive and/or that is going to grow to a large size, but if he stays the same size I can deal with the aggresion by possibly moving to a different tank - I have a 2nd reef tank that will soon be ready for an occupant
anyways the above site is the best I have found for pics but still nothing exactly matching mine. any help on identifying will be appreciated.
Patrick