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What crab is this?


Fluffeh

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I found a crab the other night, it must have hitchhiked in from live rock. The crab has probably been in my tank for 7-8 months now, and I have not seen any problems that would lead me to think he is harmful, but I wanted to check to see what kind of crab is this and whether you would recommend me taking him out? i have a variety of soft/lps/sps corals.

 

 

http://tinypic.com/r/5osift/8

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While it's tiny it probably won't cause any issues but it looks predatory to me and may get more bold as it gets larger.

 

So really it's up to you. You could just let him chill for now and if/when you notice any issues you can remove or just keep replenishing it's food source (probably just smaller crustaceans pods and such tho).

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The dark tipped sharp pointed claws looks very similar to a Stone Crab. Google Stone Crab and see what you think. If it is just know that they are omnivorous meaning they eat what ever is available.

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welp, looks like i have to figure out a way to get him out. he's a quick little guy

 

If you plan to irradicate, use a red light at night while he is out grazing. A shish kabob skewer works nicely. He won't see it coming.

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Black claws mean nothing, I own a crab with cream white claws, it literally kills anything it can grab.

Still true crabs in general aren't safe in the regular display tanks, I'd say if you want to capture the animal, you have to think smart, and set up a trap with bait, that way you won't have to wait hours squinting at a rock only to miss your shot. Many ways to make a trap, one suggestion is get a small see through container, like a pill bottle, and cut a square shaped hole in the lid (just big enough for the crab to easily fit through) of the bottle. then get a water resistant bandaid and paste it over the inside portion of the lid so only the white pad covers the opening, then with a razor blade cut the bandaid pad at the edge where the pad goes to the sticky, cut it so that if you were to fold the cut section over it would expose no more than half of the square slot in the lid, this makes a one way opening so when crab comes in he won't come out easily. Then put a meaty bait in the back of the trap and if the crab wanders all around the tank, you just have to wait for results.

Once he's caught, remember crabs are fun pets, so a quarantine area or sump banishment should be considered.

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