Mystery Crab

[MrsMarlan]

Hi! ... new to the forum... lots of helpful stuff!

we have a 4mo old 30 Gal tank w/ an Orbit 24hr lighting system, 2 sumps, 22 lbs live rock and a heater ... we've only had our Orbit light for about a month... lovin' it! it's beautiful... the moonlight is awesome :) this is home to our 2 clownfish, 1 cleaner shrimp, 1 emerald crab, 12 blue-legged & 2 Scarlet hermit crabs, 12 Snails, some soft coral and one unidentified crab. (hitch-hiker)

He's extreemly shy, he's white & brown, his body's about the size of a dime, red eyes, his legs are smooth (not fuzzy like our emerald's) his pincer arms are two different sizes: smaller one is darker (brown) & spiky, the larger one is more white w/bumps; both have little black pincers with tiny white tips. the larger arm's claw is more round, the smaller arm's claw is more pointy. We've looked at lots of crab pics but can't find him. (just a few scary reports of a murdering crab fitting our guy's description...) no-one's vanished yet, looks like he's molted twice... anyway, we'd just like to know if he's gonna pose a threat... :)

thanks for any clues... guesses...

we uploaded some pics @ http://www.putfile.com/stephsfish (best we could do, he hides a lot)

 

[minireefer]

It kind of sounds like a Dungeness crab or a slender crab
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/dungeness_crab.html#rock

 

[jhnrb]

Pictures not clear enough to get a good enough look. Recommend you go to the helpful articles, page 2, article Crabs. hope this helps. welcome to the forum.

 

[MrsMarlan]

thank you for the suggestions.. no luck yet.. I uploaded some pictures to my gallery here.. not much clearer though.. he's been hiding for almost a week.. not too much trouble yet.. he's snapped at our emerald's if they go near his turf.. but they're both twice his size so no real threat yet.. he's living off the algea i guess cause there's been no death's ... :D
I'll probably upload some pictures of our tank to my gallery... {unlimited space!! :bounce: :D :bounce: }

 

[jhnrb]

watch it closely and if you see it put pieces of stuff on itself for camolflage it could be a decorator crab, if it is not a good crab. really hard to tell without a good picture in focus. anyway good luck and keep us posted. if you can give us any more information will try and help.

 

[graphixx]

in my opnion if there is any doubt about a crab, get him out of there. most crabs are opportunistic feeders and if given the chance to snatch a fish they will take it. if you can get him out I would STRONGLY recommend it! use a bottle trap or try getting him at night. if you have a sump I would put him in there or see if your LFS will give you credit for him!! could be a type of gorilla crab and they are nasty little buggars.