jesseatam Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 Found what appears to be a dead crab on my live rock. I also another similar crab while my tank was cycling too, anyone know what the species is? I assume it's predatory due to the shape of its claws. Sorry the the picture quality it bad just snapped them quickly on my phone. Quote Link to comment
Lugmos12 Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 That is so cute. I wish my live rock had come with a crab 1 Quote Link to comment
jesseatam Posted July 9, 2017 Author Share Posted July 9, 2017 Cute indeed, but I'm not sure how reef safe it is . I got my rock from Atlantic Reef Conservation btw, I wasn't impressed at first but now as the tank matures i'm starting to like it more and more. Quote Link to comment
Lugmos12 Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 10 minutes ago, jesseatam said: Cute indeed, but I'm not sure how reef safe it is . I got my rock from Atlantic Reef Conservation btw, I wasn't impressed at first but now as the tank matures i'm starting to like it more and more. On this thread it talks a bit about black tip crabs 1 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 Never trust a crab...... especially one with pointy claws. it is cute though. 1 Quote Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 Markings look very similar to a juvenile calico crab, as does the shape and claw structure. The black tips on the claws, however, do not. 1 Quote Link to comment
jesseatam Posted July 9, 2017 Author Share Posted July 9, 2017 2 hours ago, RayWhisperer said: Markings look very similar to a juvenile calico crab, as does the shape and claw structure. The black tips on the claws, however, do not. Yeah that's the first thing that came to my mind as well. 4 hours ago, Lugmos12 said: On this thread it talks a bit about black tip crabs Wow never knew gorilla crabs actually burrowed into rock, very interesting. Quote Link to comment
LJR Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 idk what kind of crab it is, but it looks like one of the predatory hitchhiking ones. It also looks like that could be a molt, and not an actual corpse, meaning the owner may be still in there 1 Quote Link to comment
jesseatam Posted July 11, 2017 Author Share Posted July 11, 2017 14 minutes ago, LJR said: idk what kind of crab it is, but it looks like one of the predatory hitchhiking ones. It also looks like that could be a molt, and not an actual corpse, meaning the owner may be still in there It felt pretty weighty for a molt, but the only experience I have with crab molts is my hermit so its very possible the owner is still lurking around. 1 Quote Link to comment
LJR Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Just now, jesseatam said: It felt pretty weighty for a molt, but the only experience I have with crab molts is my hermit so its very possible the owner is still lurking around. I used to check for eyes with my porcelain crab (not a true crab, but close enough, lol). If the eyes are black, its probably a corpse 1 Quote Link to comment
jesseatam Posted July 11, 2017 Author Share Posted July 11, 2017 4 minutes ago, LJR said: I used to check for eyes with my porcelain crab (not a true crab, but close enough, lol). If the eyes are black, its probably a corpse Hm well there are no eyes in the pics but there still appears to be flesh inside were they should be? Wish I kept the body now so I could take it apart to see. 1 Quote Link to comment
LJR Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Just now, jesseatam said: Hm well there are no eyes in the pics but there still appears to be flesh inside were they should be? Wish I kept the body now so I could take it apart to see. It could have been that the eyes just fell off, but I had noticed that usually there is a little something left in the shell when the crabs molts it. It could go either way, I'd just keep your eyes peeled for things being eaten. Maybe use a red light to peek around at night. 1 Quote Link to comment
jesseatam Posted July 11, 2017 Author Share Posted July 11, 2017 1 minute ago, LJR said: It could have been that the eyes just fell off, but I had noticed that usually there is a little something left in the shell when the crabs molts it. It could go either way, I'd just keep your eyes peeled for things being eaten. Maybe use a red light to peek around at night. Yeah the molt was pretty small so I'm not super worried as of now but I definitely want to remove it so I don't have any future problems. Also a day or two before I found the body/molt I saw what looked to be fuzzy legs duck into the rock when I made a sudden movement outside the rock while the moonlights were on. I think I have a headlamp with a red light somewhere, worst case I'll just snag my snakes heat lamp as I use a red bulb for that . What I found funny was when I was taking the crab out I dropped it and my Geometric Pygmy Hawkfish made a beeline for it but didn't actually eat it. He hasn't taken prepared foods since I've had him so this interested me, the only things I've seen him eat are things on the rocks that I can't see which I presume are pods and a small worm that was not a bristle worm. 1 Quote Link to comment
JillianAG Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 Kill it! It's a tiny gorilla crab! I had one come in on my live rock and it took me three zoa polyps, countless snaps and three months to kill him. hopefully you didn't put him back - they can get up to 2" - shell alone - so that'd probably be about 4"+ including claws and legs!! good luck! 1 Quote Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 Could also be https://reefs.com/2016/01/20/kaleidoscopic-platypodiella-clown-crabs/ 1 Quote Link to comment
jesseatam Posted August 1, 2017 Author Share Posted August 1, 2017 Yeah the thing was dead so I threw it out, I thought it could be a clown crab too but it seemed to hairy to be one. Quote Link to comment
jesseatam Posted August 19, 2017 Author Share Posted August 19, 2017 So bad news, it has returned. I'm ot sure if it's the same exact crab but definitely the same species, but either way it's bigger. I caught it moving around a small rock in the little cave. The black pointy claws make me uneasy even though all my corals appear to be fine, although I don't have any fish in at the moment so I can't say anything about that. I think I want to remove this guy so should I just go for the typical jar/cup against the rock with some mysis or whatever in it? I'm just worried that my fire shrimp will just dive in and steal it before the crab even has a chance at it. The crab is where you see the flashlight shining in the picture, you can see a bit of its orange patterning and legs. Quote Link to comment
jesseatam Posted August 20, 2017 Author Share Posted August 20, 2017 Another pic of the crab, gonna just try to flush him out and manually remove him during tonight's water change so wish me luck!! 1 Quote Link to comment
jesseatam Posted August 20, 2017 Author Share Posted August 20, 2017 Mission Failed: the little guy is surprising quick and bolted under the rock real fast. He hasn't done any actual damage yet so I'm not sure if it's even worth the effort to try to trap him. Quote Link to comment
jesseatam Posted August 21, 2017 Author Share Posted August 21, 2017 Was able to snag two more decent pics of him. This whole time I've just been assuming it's been a type of xanthid crab since it's too hairy to be a clown crab, any other ideas besides that? Quote Link to comment
JillianAG Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 I tried every trap - store bought and home made and in the end - I used a stainless steel kitchen skewer!! It took me about a dozen tries - but I got him. I kept the skewer next to my tank so I could get it quickly. It took me quite a while. He was in a hole that ran clear through the other side so when I finally got him - I could see his tiny legs stuck out the other side and the next day my hermits were eating him!! ???? My family was worried about how excited I was .... good luck to you!!!! Quote Link to comment
Lugmos12 Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 what did you do with it? Quote Link to comment
JillianAG Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 A steel skewer - the kind you would use to make shishkabobs ?? 1 Quote Link to comment
Lugmos12 Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 14 minutes ago, JillianAG said: A steel skewer - the kind you would use to make shishkabobs ?? Quote Link to comment
1891Bro Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 32 minutes ago, Lugmos12 said: Bit no one bats an eye at all the algae we kill lol. Quote Link to comment
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