supersecretshinto Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 I was breaking up a piece of live rock to get the coral off on seprate, more managable pieces when a crab-like critter emerged from a crevice in the rock. I couldn't continue to break the rock for fear of hurting him so I just chucked him in my tank. Later I did some looking around and was finally able to identify it as a Squat Lobster. Thankfully, it was not a type of crab that is a known coral eater but not much info was available on these little guys. His claws seem rather delicate so I'm assuming he would prefer to forage for tidbits from between the rocks instead of chowing down on my corals. Do any of you have one of these? Is it coral/fish friendly? What do they eat? How big do they get? Any info would be appreciated. Link to comment
Jamie Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 I don't know about the tropical types but I have caught coldwater squat lobsters in shrimp traps off the coast of vacouver island, BC.Because I caught them in a trap they must be at least part scavenging, if not fully. Link to comment
supersecretshinto Posted July 4, 2006 Author Share Posted July 4, 2006 Thanks for your input. I witnessed him eating after he decided it was safe to come out and he did seem to like the same stuff as my hermit crab (related?). I sure hope he doesn't get much bigger than a shrimp or a hermit, though! Link to comment
idog Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Man that is one ugly bugger... Do you really want that in your tank? Link to comment
DementedLullaby Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Man that is one ugly bugger... Do you really want that in your tank? I'd like one in my tank. I guess I appreciate the diversity . Different strokes for different folks! Link to comment
oceanqueen Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 they are delicious dipped in butter Link to comment
supersecretshinto Posted July 8, 2006 Author Share Posted July 8, 2006 they are delicious dipped in butter lol....that's exactly where he may end up if he gets too big. He is ugly, but now that we are pretty sure he's harmless my girlfriend has really gotten attatched to him despite the fact that he looks like a giant tick. He hasn't got a name yet but we've started refering to him as "squatty" or "the squat monster". You don't see his whole body very often but you can usually see a pair of long spindly arms reaching out of holes in the rock picking around for food. He can really bend his arms in wierd directions cuz his joints have alot of rotation in them. They look like robot arms when they move. Seeing him eat out in the open is rather humorous since his arms are so long. Kinda like watching a guy trying to eat dinner with a backhoe. Even I'm developing a soft spot for the little bugger. He's about ready to usurp Cecil, my prized Vermatid Snail's position, as my favorite hitchhiker. Link to comment
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