what kind of crab is this???

[bigford84]

hi. i found this crab while aquascaping my cycling 55 gal fowlr tank.
he is kinda red or orange and a lil hairy, when he is scared he tucks in all his legs and kinda looks like a rock, iv searched and cant find a pic of this kind of crab some are close but he does not have black claws . i didnt think there was anything living in there cause of the cycle. high ammo,and nitrites and such.. but here is the best 2 pics out of 13 i got of him, thank you

 

[abdhalim2]

bro...it maybe already inside your live rock...i also found one in my LR while doing water cycle but it wont live long enough in my tank...some said its a hitchhikers which might be bad for corals....IDK

 

[bigford84]

yeah i thought it was a hitch hicker , but all the live rock in that tank was stores in 40 dagree water cause i was told it would live..WRONG!! thanks lfs guy... and after that cycle it should have died .. but iv put him in my sump untill i finish scaping the tank,and find out what he is, good or bad

 

[abdhalim2]

good decision.....

 

[mr_X]

looks like a xanthid crab to me. there are many species. i doubt he's reef safe, as no crabs really are 100% reef safe. i would keep him alive in the sump though. he can't do any harm down there.
btw, black claws or not, all crabs are opportunistic feeders.

 

[Jaybird]

I have to agree with Doug. No crab is 100% reef-safe. I can't tell what kind of crab it is from the photo but if it isn't an emerald, porceline, or acro crab I would not risk it in any tank (reef or fowlr). I have a nasty xanthid crab that I have been trying to catch for a month and I still can't get him out. Once you have it out never, ever, put it back into the display tank.

Leave him in the sump or in the soup.

 

[cabezon]

side note, look for a macro setting on your phone or camera. sometimes it is marked by a flower.

 

[bigford84]

thanks, iv been wanting to ask how you guys get such good pics up close on small things.. ill look 4 it, hope i can figure it out

 

[bigford84]

think i firured it out

i think i got the macro thing. it was rite in front of me, after looking in all the settings, it was a button. and it does now look like he has black claws with white tips

 

[bigford84]

think i figured it out

i think i got the macro thing. it was rite in front of me, after looking in all the settings, it was a button. and it does now look like he has black claws with white tips

oopps i tryed to fix the title and gave me a new post... sory

 

[Jaybird]

Definitely not a reef-safe crab. If you have a fowlr setup he might be fine for a while but with those claws he could snatch a sleeping fish. I would either put him in the sump or trade him. There might be someone local who wants to feed their mantis or another crustacean eater

 

[mr_X]

don't kill the little guy...he's cool...toss him in the sump!

 

[abdhalim2]

yeah...dont kill that Mr Crabby.....

 

[bigford84]

no i am not going to kill him.. i would not kill anything that i didn't like.

he lives in the fuge. but what will he eat? and i run the fuge light 24-7 will that bug him?

 

[mr_X]

run the refugium opposite the DT. then he'll still get a night time and your ph will still be stable.
he'll find stuff to eat. plenty of food particles fall down the drains and end up in the sump.
i once found a small crab, about the size of a pencil eraser on an sps colony i got in. i was in the habit (and still am) of trying not to kill anything i forced into captivity, so i tossed him in the sump.
about a year later i looked down in the skimmer area and was shocked to see this:

it turns out he's a "brown egg crab", which is on the endangered species list in singapore.
he's almost the diameter of a coke can in that pic.

 

[Jaybird]

Wow! I have a red-eye xanthid crab that I caught and put into my sump. He hasn't grown too much in the past year. As well, I still have another predatory xanthid crab that I have been trying to catch in the display tank. He's not as big as that brown egg crab. He was in the same whole all the time so I tried the bait in a glass trick but since putting the glass in I haven't seen him around the same hole anymore.

 

[abdhalim2]

wow Mr X....u might breed that crab and sell it to Singapore...LOL