syntax_error Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Hello all! I caught two small hitchhiker crabs in my new pink birdsnest coral. One looks like a gorilla crab and the other, I think, might be an 'acro crab' (the one's that usually hang out in corals). Can anyone give a positive ID please? Link to comment
lakshwadeep Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Keep the small one!!!!! It definitely looks like one of the trapezia crabs that are extremely beneficial to SPS like acropora: http://news.mongabay.com/2006/1023-ucsb.html I'm less sure about the hairy one. I've seen some people state that they are harmless and others claim they were predators. This is a good site for identifying hitchhikers: http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchcrabs.html Unfortunately, chuck's addiction seems have exceeded its bandwith, but the basic format is a list of many pictures. Link to comment
Zombo Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Hello all! I caught two small hitchhiker crabs in my new pink birdsnest coral. One looks like a gorilla crab and the other, I think, might be an 'acro crab' (the one's that usually hang out in corals). Can anyone give a positive ID please? Kinda tough to tell for certain, but looks like a gorilla crab (larger hairy beast) and a small porcelain crab (good). Link to comment
syntax_error Posted July 30, 2008 Author Share Posted July 30, 2008 Thank's guys. I just came to describe a little more about the crabs when I saw your replies. Ok, so the small one's going to stay then. The hairy crab in the other hand doesn't look too friendly. He has green eyes. The right claw is larger than the left (left claw is like a normal leg). I guess I should get rid of him; better safe than sorry. Link to comment
lakshwadeep Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 If you have a fuge, you could put the hairy crab there. Also, porcelain crabs are not the same as trapeziids. The hairy crab may look like this: http://reef.eldersign.org/?p=237 Link to comment
syntax_error Posted July 31, 2008 Author Share Posted July 31, 2008 I put the little one back in the tank and I'll ban the hairy one to the fuge. Thank you all for your help! Link to comment
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