Little red looking crab thing under the live rock!!

[devon9832]

I just purchased some liverock from the LFS and when i got it home, and after a few days i noticed a crab looking creature under the rock. I was trying to do some research and it looks like a fiddler crab. Not sure if it is safe for my reef tank or not. I think he is the murderer of two of my hermit crabs. He seems to come out and then vanish when i come around.

He's the size of a large hermit crab and only have one big claw on his right side. he has some hairly looking things on his legs and body. It looks like he has already shed one exoskeleton. Its creeping me out because i never see him, but i don't kno if its a hazard or not. Does anyone know what he might be?

 

[yote]

Sounds like it could either be a stone crab or a gorilla crab.Both of which are bad news.

 

[Bifferwine]

Hairy crabs generally mean bad news. If you can figure out which rock he lives in, try to isolate that rock and get a pic of him, or at least a better view.

 

[devon9832]

This is as close as i could get to the crab.

this is a frontal shot.

and this is a top shot if it helps at all.

 

[messiah023]

I can't see the crab to tell really good, but you have a strange white cloud & bubbles that I would keep a close eye on!

 

[devon9832]

damn. i saw that cloud too. i thought i should keep an eye on it.

but on a serious note, the he/she is the size of large hermit crab but he is light reddish in color and only has one big claw. But i have found out that hairy crabs are bad news, so i guess i need to go ahead and try to get him out. i thought he would be a helpful part of my tank... i guess not...

 

[yote]

Hard to tell from the pics.But I'll bet its not reef safe.Just from those beady lil eyes.

 

[devon9832]

yea, everytime i pull my camera out and get close to the tank, he haul's ass back into my LR. I'm nervous to really mess with it.

 

[Bifferwine]

It really looks like a red emerald crab (they come in all colors, not just green). Google emerald crab and see if that's what it looks like.

 

[SSalty]

I was also thinking an emarald crab. The reason why it might have one big claw is because it might have lost the other one and it is growing back.

 

[cgoodman381]

If its hairy or not doesnt really matter. Some people say it does, but I really dont think so.

The main thing to look at is the crabs claws. If they look like they are more for scraping or if they are sharp.

 

[messiah023]

Devon,

Check out this site. See if you can ID it from the pics and let us know...

http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchcrabs.html

Could be Xanthid or Mithrax.

I had a Xanthid show up in a batch of new liverock I bought. He is no longer among the living.

 

[dolphins8426]

I have 2 emerald crabs in my tank and those suckers do some work on algae. Anyways they have furry legs which being furry/hairy doesn’t necessarily mean they are bad news. Mine are green and a purplish.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/rod19425/RwLYyboAShI/AAAAAAAAADU/dW3MoOMRkCk/emerald[6].jpg

 

[dustin_P74]

need a new link, 404 error, and the hairy rule applies to hairy all over not just there legs

 

[dolphins8426]

Link works for me, but here another one.

http://www.pbase.com/l8braker/image/67075105

Try that one

 

[dustin_P74]

that works