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Purchased a closed Brain today from the LFS and found this crab as a hitchhiker. Would appreciate an ID so I know whether or not it is reef safe and if I should put him in the tank. Thanks for the advice/info.
no crabs are truly reef safe. i wouldn't execute him though. i'd keep an eye on him and see what behavior he shows first. if you have a sump or refugium, he might be better off in there.
he does look like an emerald crab to me. a member of the mithrax family. they are omnivores, which means they eat both meat and veggies!
Looks like his father was an emerald crab and his mother was a Teddy bear. But seriously, in the sump I would put him. Or watch and see if any polyps or other soft corals start to disappear.