Anyone know what this crab is?

dalee26 · 03/24/2009, 11:29 AM

I have had the fish tank for about a year now that I got from a fellow saltwater enthusiast. He mentioned the crab to me when I picked the tank up and ensured me that it was fine. Well, I cannot seem to keep a hermit crab alive in there for the life of me and my snails are disappearing too. I put them in and in a weeks time they are all gone.

Thanks for the help!

natereinhold1 · 03/24/2009, 11:41 AM

it looks like a Ruby Crab (Mithrax sculptus), eats algae mostly and scavenges.

natereinhold1 · 03/24/2009, 11:44 AM

does it look like it has little "spoons" (lack of a sharp point) on the tip if its claws? fury legs?

chris55014 · 03/24/2009, 12:04 PM

Sort of looks like a Strawberry Crab. Does it have little white spots on it?

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/ar...8&category=317

double0banks · 03/24/2009, 12:18 PM

like mentioned above, you can usually tell what a crab eats by its claws. Flat tipped=algea.....sharp=meat

double0banks · 03/24/2009, 12:21 PM

That being said they are opportunists and will eat a variety of things if their normal diet isn't available. Then some are just jerks and eat only what you dont want them to eat. Quarentine him and see if the same trend continues is pretty much the only solution unless you have melted butter handy

natereinhold1 · 03/24/2009, 12:23 PM

does it look like this?

http://caribbeanfishandmore.com/Page...ithrax%202.htm

dalee26 · 03/24/2009, 01:26 PM

Its claws are black and have sharp points on them. His legs do not have any fur at all and I have not noticed any spots on him/her. I pulled all of that rock out a few weeks ago and he was nowhere when I got to the bottom =( lol The next day he was back in the same spot. It is a red/orange and pretty sure he is a meat eater because it brings its crabby self out whenever the brine shrimp smell hits the water when I feed the fish. I shall work on catching it today. Thank you for all of the all of the replies.

acemow · 03/24/2009, 07:28 PM

I just pulled a similar crab out of my tank that was hidden in there for a long time apparently. It has red eyes, looks very similar, mine's a Xanthid, red eye reef crab, and it ate a couple healthy, small fish, gorged itself on snails, and just got bigger, moving on to bigger livestock in my tank so it had to come out. I have it in my QT with a couple pieces of rock until I find someone who wants it. It's very creepy. Catching it was difficult

acemow · 03/24/2009, 07:30 PM

I just pulled a similar crab out of my tank that was hidden in there for a long time apparently. It has red eyes, looks very similar, mine's a Xanthid, red eye reef crab, and it ate a couple healthy, small fish, gorged itself on snails, and just got bigger, moving on to bigger livestock in my tank so it had to come out. I have it in my QT with a couple pieces of rock until I find someone who wants it. It's very creepy. Catching it was tricky

acemow · 03/24/2009, 07:32 PM

I just pulled one out that I think is a Xanthid, red eye reef crab, it was a hitch hiker at some point and just kept eating livestock and getting bigger. I had to get it out. It's in QT with some rock until I find someone who may want it. Catching it was tricky

acemow · 03/24/2009, 07:33 PM

The site was having technical issues when I posted response. That's why it posted three times. Sorry

dalee26 · 03/25/2009, 12:59 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by acemow
I just pulled one out that I think is a Xanthid, red eye reef crab, it was a hitch hiker at some point and just kept eating livestock and getting bigger. I had to get it out. It's in QT with some rock until I find someone who may want it. Catching it was tricky

I pulled all of my rock out tonight to get to it and it was gone. grrrrrr. This is the 3rd time I have tried to catch it and it seems to know when I think about catching it. I shall get him soon because now the determination is at an all time high lol. Lil buggers.

Thank you all for the input!!

Darren

Gwynhidwy · 03/25/2009, 06:12 AM

You might have good luck with a trap. Crabs will often go after food in traps very quickly. If he's small enough you can make one out of a soda bottle.

RumLad · 03/25/2009, 06:38 AM

+1 on the trap.
Post a good picture when you get him out.

natereinhold1 · 03/25/2009, 06:40 AM

+1, cut the top off a soda bottle and turn it around and stick it in the bottom part so the "cone" faces inward, put in some silver sides or something of the like. Hopefully it will crawl in to get the food and not be able to get out. Only problem i have with this trap is sometimes fish get in it along with the intended critter and it eats the fish.It works 90% of the time for me, and you might have to rough up the inner surface of the cone so the crab has something to hold on to, to climb in the trap. If it's smooth it might not be able to gain purchase to climb in. Good luck.

dalee26 · 03/30/2009, 09:36 AM

The crab is approx. 1.5 inches wide and his claws are 1/2 inch, black, and sharp. I just caught him dragging half a sheet of nori into his spot whenever the suction cup came off of the tank. Apparently he isn't picky when he is hungry. I still have not found a picture of him and the soda bottle trap is in the process of being made. Don't really drink that much of it, but dang that new cherry dr. pepper is pretty tasty!

dalee26 · 03/31/2009, 08:13 AM

I wake up this morning to my trap filled with every snail, I think, that is in my tank, inside of it! lol The crabs apparently were not interested in a shrimp so I will find another piece of bait. My internet was down all night so I never got to research the best food or if the shrimp was worth putting in.

Yesterday I noticed a larger one that sleeps right next to the other one in a hole in the rock. There could be more than those 2. Pictures as soon as I pull them in the 'boat'.

dalee26 · 04/02/2009, 08:13 AM

My Mandarin has a chunk missing on her top fin and I am thinking that these crabs took a chomp at her. 2 nights in a row it has not touched the trap. Hopefully the 3rd time is the charm. It looks like the claws on a gorilla crab but it is a smooth red/orange. Both of them. One is a lot bigger than the other and still fits in it's hole in the rock. With the protein skimmer issue and these crabs eating my clean up crews, daddy is getting a little motivated to have a crab boil.

Your Ad Here · 04/02/2009, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by dalee26
I just caught him dragging half a sheet of nori .

sounds like hes partial to nori, might want to put that in the trap.

Chris

dalee26 · 04/24/2009, 09:45 AM

Got one! 2 more to go! Someone locally here said they thought it looked like a stone crab. I am wondering if they guy I got it from fished it out of the tidal creeks around here.

Anyone else seen one?

produceb · 04/24/2009, 10:04 AM

stone crab. We catch and eat there claws when in season and much bigger than that one.

dalee26 · 04/24/2009, 10:15 AM

ok....so i will set him free in a minute and catch his cousins tomorrow.

noahm · 04/24/2009, 10:27 AM

Yeah, some kind of stone crab. I have one in my sump. Is real pretty burgandy, but basically same trouble as a gorilla crab.... eats whatever fits in its mouth.

cody6766 · 04/24/2009, 10:54 AM

might as well toss it in the sump if you have one. Releasing it into the wild can possibly introduce disease to the local waters. You have no idea what's growing in your tank and what it may do to local wildlife. Something completely benign in your tank may kill critters that haven't evolved defenses against it. Likely nothing would happen, but the risk isn't worth it. Besides, he can eat the extras that make it into the sump before they rot.

03/24/2009, 11:29 AM	#1
dalee26 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: 29466 Posts: 162	Anyone know what this crab is? I have had the fish tank for about a year now that I got from a fellow saltwater enthusiast. He mentioned the crab to me when I picked the tank up and ensured me that it was fine. Well, I cannot seem to keep a hermit crab alive in there for the life of me and my snails are disappearing too. I put them in and in a weeks time they are all gone. Thanks for the help!

03/24/2009, 11:41 AM	#2
natereinhold1 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: columbia il Posts: 411	it looks like a Ruby Crab (Mithrax sculptus), eats algae mostly and scavenges. __________________ "It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get back up." -Vince Lombardi I collect hermits Current Tank Info: 28 gallon nano cube, xr15w pro radion, mp10, RW-4, apex gold, refugium mod, 2x media reactor (gfo/chemi-pure elite:blue/purigen), programmable 4 channel dosing pump (kalk/vinegar and auto water changes), moded skimmer, hydor smart ATO

03/24/2009, 11:44 AM	#3
natereinhold1 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: columbia il Posts: 411	does it look like it has little "spoons" (lack of a sharp point) on the tip if its claws? fury legs? __________________ "It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get back up." -Vince Lombardi I collect hermits Current Tank Info: 28 gallon nano cube, xr15w pro radion, mp10, RW-4, apex gold, refugium mod, 2x media reactor (gfo/chemi-pure elite:blue/purigen), programmable 4 channel dosing pump (kalk/vinegar and auto water changes), moded skimmer, hydor smart ATO

03/24/2009, 12:18 PM	#5
double0banks Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: MA Posts: 135	like mentioned above, you can usually tell what a crab eats by its claws. Flat tipped=algea.....sharp=meat __________________ be careful with that thing, you drop that bannana and BOOM we're all done for! Current Tank Info: in the process

03/24/2009, 12:21 PM	#6
double0banks Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: MA Posts: 135	That being said they are opportunists and will eat a variety of things if their normal diet isn't available. Then some are just jerks and eat only what you dont want them to eat. Quarentine him and see if the same trend continues is pretty much the only solution unless you have melted butter handy __________________ be careful with that thing, you drop that bannana and BOOM we're all done for! Current Tank Info: in the process

03/24/2009, 12:04 PM	#4
chris55014 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 15	Sort of looks like a Strawberry Crab. Does it have little white spots on it? http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/ar...8&category=317

03/24/2009, 12:23 PM	#7
natereinhold1 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: columbia il Posts: 411	does it look like this? http://caribbeanfishandmore.com/Page...ithrax%202.htm __________________ "It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get back up." -Vince Lombardi I collect hermits Current Tank Info: 28 gallon nano cube, xr15w pro radion, mp10, RW-4, apex gold, refugium mod, 2x media reactor (gfo/chemi-pure elite:blue/purigen), programmable 4 channel dosing pump (kalk/vinegar and auto water changes), moded skimmer, hydor smart ATO

03/24/2009, 01:26 PM	#8
dalee26 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: 29466 Posts: 162	Its claws are black and have sharp points on them. His legs do not have any fur at all and I have not noticed any spots on him/her. I pulled all of that rock out a few weeks ago and he was nowhere when I got to the bottom =( lol The next day he was back in the same spot. It is a red/orange and pretty sure he is a meat eater because it brings its crabby self out whenever the brine shrimp smell hits the water when I feed the fish. I shall work on catching it today. Thank you for all of the all of the replies.

03/24/2009, 07:28 PM	#9
acemow Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Cape Coral, Florida Posts: 25	I just pulled a similar crab out of my tank that was hidden in there for a long time apparently. It has red eyes, looks very similar, mine's a Xanthid, red eye reef crab, and it ate a couple healthy, small fish, gorged itself on snails, and just got bigger, moving on to bigger livestock in my tank so it had to come out. I have it in my QT with a couple pieces of rock until I find someone who wants it. It's very creepy. Catching it was difficult __________________ Do I have gills yet??!!?? Current Tank Info: 75 gal, 2 150w 14k mh, 120lbs LR 2 1/2"SB, veliferum Sailfin Tang, Oscellaris clown, Sixline wrasse brain, button polyps, acro, rics, frogspawn, mauve lobe, suncoral, 2 Skunk shrimp, peppermints, emeralds, snails, refugium

03/24/2009, 07:30 PM	#10
acemow Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Cape Coral, Florida Posts: 25	I just pulled a similar crab out of my tank that was hidden in there for a long time apparently. It has red eyes, looks very similar, mine's a Xanthid, red eye reef crab, and it ate a couple healthy, small fish, gorged itself on snails, and just got bigger, moving on to bigger livestock in my tank so it had to come out. I have it in my QT with a couple pieces of rock until I find someone who wants it. It's very creepy. Catching it was tricky __________________ Do I have gills yet??!!?? Current Tank Info: 75 gal, 2 150w 14k mh, 120lbs LR 2 1/2"SB, veliferum Sailfin Tang, Oscellaris clown, Sixline wrasse brain, button polyps, acro, rics, frogspawn, mauve lobe, suncoral, 2 Skunk shrimp, peppermints, emeralds, snails, refugium

03/24/2009, 07:32 PM	#11
acemow Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Cape Coral, Florida Posts: 25	I just pulled one out that I think is a Xanthid, red eye reef crab, it was a hitch hiker at some point and just kept eating livestock and getting bigger. I had to get it out. It's in QT with some rock until I find someone who may want it. Catching it was tricky __________________ Do I have gills yet??!!?? Current Tank Info: 75 gal, 2 150w 14k mh, 120lbs LR 2 1/2"SB, veliferum Sailfin Tang, Oscellaris clown, Sixline wrasse brain, button polyps, acro, rics, frogspawn, mauve lobe, suncoral, 2 Skunk shrimp, peppermints, emeralds, snails, refugium

03/24/2009, 07:33 PM	#12
acemow Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Cape Coral, Florida Posts: 25	The site was having technical issues when I posted response. That's why it posted three times. Sorry __________________ Do I have gills yet??!!?? Current Tank Info: 75 gal, 2 150w 14k mh, 120lbs LR 2 1/2"SB, veliferum Sailfin Tang, Oscellaris clown, Sixline wrasse brain, button polyps, acro, rics, frogspawn, mauve lobe, suncoral, 2 Skunk shrimp, peppermints, emeralds, snails, refugium

03/25/2009, 06:12 AM	#14
Gwynhidwy Meat Popsicle Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 1,511	You might have good luck with a trap. Crabs will often go after food in traps very quickly. If he's small enough you can make one out of a soda bottle. __________________ -- He who learns must suffer, and, even in our sleep, pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God. -- Aeschylus

03/25/2009, 06:38 AM	#15
RumLad Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Suburban Chicagoland Posts: 794	+1 on the trap. Post a good picture when you get him out. __________________ "If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. " H. D. Thoreau

03/25/2009, 06:40 AM	#16
natereinhold1 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: columbia il Posts: 411	+1, cut the top off a soda bottle and turn it around and stick it in the bottom part so the "cone" faces inward, put in some silver sides or something of the like. Hopefully it will crawl in to get the food and not be able to get out. Only problem i have with this trap is sometimes fish get in it along with the intended critter and it eats the fish.It works 90% of the time for me, and you might have to rough up the inner surface of the cone so the crab has something to hold on to, to climb in the trap. If it's smooth it might not be able to gain purchase to climb in. Good luck. __________________ "It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get back up." -Vince Lombardi I collect hermits Current Tank Info: 28 gallon nano cube, xr15w pro radion, mp10, RW-4, apex gold, refugium mod, 2x media reactor (gfo/chemi-pure elite:blue/purigen), programmable 4 channel dosing pump (kalk/vinegar and auto water changes), moded skimmer, hydor smart ATO

03/30/2009, 09:36 AM	#17
dalee26 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: 29466 Posts: 162	The crab is approx. 1.5 inches wide and his claws are 1/2 inch, black, and sharp. I just caught him dragging half a sheet of nori into his spot whenever the suction cup came off of the tank. Apparently he isn't picky when he is hungry. I still have not found a picture of him and the soda bottle trap is in the process of being made. Don't really drink that much of it, but dang that new cherry dr. pepper is pretty tasty!

03/31/2009, 08:13 AM	#18
dalee26 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: 29466 Posts: 162	I wake up this morning to my trap filled with every snail, I think, that is in my tank, inside of it! lol The crabs apparently were not interested in a shrimp so I will find another piece of bait. My internet was down all night so I never got to research the best food or if the shrimp was worth putting in. Yesterday I noticed a larger one that sleeps right next to the other one in a hole in the rock. There could be more than those 2. Pictures as soon as I pull them in the 'boat'.

04/02/2009, 08:13 AM	#19
dalee26 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: 29466 Posts: 162	My Mandarin has a chunk missing on her top fin and I am thinking that these crabs took a chomp at her. 2 nights in a row it has not touched the trap. Hopefully the 3rd time is the charm. It looks like the claws on a gorilla crab but it is a smooth red/orange. Both of them. One is a lot bigger than the other and still fits in it's hole in the rock. With the protein skimmer issue and these crabs eating my clean up crews, daddy is getting a little motivated to have a crab boil.

04/24/2009, 09:45 AM	#21
dalee26 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: 29466 Posts: 162	One Down....2 to go! Got one! 2 more to go! Someone locally here said they thought it looked like a stone crab. I am wondering if they guy I got it from fished it out of the tidal creeks around here. Anyone else seen one?

04/24/2009, 10:04 AM	#22
produceb Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 61	stone crab. We catch and eat there claws when in season and much bigger than that one.

04/24/2009, 10:15 AM	#23
dalee26 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: 29466 Posts: 162	ok....so i will set him free in a minute and catch his cousins tomorrow.

04/24/2009, 10:27 AM	#24
noahm Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 2,736	Yeah, some kind of stone crab. I have one in my sump. Is real pretty burgandy, but basically same trouble as a gorilla crab.... eats whatever fits in its mouth.

04/24/2009, 10:54 AM	#25
cody6766 Super Best Friends! Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: OKC, OK Posts: 3,772	might as well toss it in the sump if you have one. Releasing it into the wild can possibly introduce disease to the local waters. You have no idea what's growing in your tank and what it may do to local wildlife. Something completely benign in your tank may kill critters that haven't evolved defenses against it. Likely nothing would happen, but the risk isn't worth it. Besides, he can eat the extras that make it into the sump before they rot. __________________ "The moral is the chosen, not the forced; the understood, not the obeyed. The moral is the rational, and reason accepts no commandments." - John Galt Current Tank Info: Cadlights 60G Arisan II mixed reef with 2x MP40s and 24" ATI