Yet Another Mystery Crab

captbunzo · 06/11/2006, 02:57 PM

Hey, folks.... This hobby never ceases to amaze me as to the stuff you can find in your tank after months. I have discovered a small "mystery crab" in my tank recently. This sucker is probably about 1-1.5 inches across, including legs. I found it in my tank today and snapped some pics. Lovely little hitchhiker. Anyhow, I am curious if anyone knows what this is. Now, I know that crabs can be hard to identify. But anyhow.

Larger pics can be seen by going to those on flickr, here:
http://flickr.com/photos/captbunzo/1...7594143172842/

sadsak · 06/11/2006, 03:38 PM

My guess is a decorator crab or something really close to that! Rarely will you ever get a good hitchhiker.

chris4693 · 06/11/2006, 06:54 PM

Cool looking crab!

From the looks of its claws they seem to be rounded, like an emerald crab, which would be good cause it could be a scavenger of vegi's.

Sharp pointed claws like a gorilla crab would most likely be a meat eater, eating snails, other crabs and fish it could catch.

Just my guess, I could be wrong, someone please correct me if I am.

djc1026 · 06/11/2006, 08:51 PM

Paul, if I were to guess, I would say some species of gorilla crab.

Chris, the claws look pointed to me, not with the little ice cream scoops on the ends like mithrax.

Well, there you go, no better off than before

Three replies, three answers

Dave

kpk · 06/11/2006, 10:59 PM

Vote for a Gorilla here too. I had one and had fish disappearing...

dummyterminal · 06/11/2006, 11:21 PM

pic of a crab i found on google labled as a gorilla... they look awefuly close

could it be the same paul whitby we all know???

captbunzo · 06/12/2006, 09:08 AM

For what's it's worth, Dr. Ron Shimek over in his Marine Depot forum claimed this appeared to be a grapsid crab. He also commented, interestingly enough, that to do a better identification he needed a better (top down) picture of the carapace. One benefit of it being a grapsid is that, he said, they stay fairly small. Of course, that's a pretty relative term...

The he posted a link to this article on basic crap biology and identification.

And, btw, a grapsid is not a gorilla crab. Gorillas are xanthids. Not that any of this means anything. This is just, as djc1026 said, a fourth answer that may or not be correct.

At least the article was interesting...

pwhitby · 06/12/2006, 09:16 AM

Hey...look who took that pic of the Gorilla crab!

pwhitby · 06/12/2006, 09:16 AM

and...Pauls crab looks nothing like the gorillas I have seen.

tgwinn · 06/12/2006, 10:49 AM

Quote:

The he posted a link to this article on basic crap biology and identification

Being new to all this, I am just really curious as to what "crap biology" is....LOL

kpk · 06/12/2006, 11:07 AM

True Whitby. Come to think of it down in the gulf I have caught crabs that look like that and the one I had. They just call them rock crabs. I brought one back one time and it was bad news for a damsel he was with lol...

Kyle

Travis L. Stevens · 06/12/2006, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by tgwinn
Being new to all this, I am just really curious as to what "crap biology" is....LOL

I'm not sure, but I think punctuation was lacking in that statement you quoted. (and maybe a little misspelled words)

"Then" he posted a link to this article on "basic crap, biology, and identification"

tgwinn · 06/12/2006, 11:19 AM

Ok...sorry..i was only kidding

Excuse my goofy sense of humor.

Travis L. Stevens · 06/12/2006, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by tgwinn
Ok...sorry..i was only kidding Excuse my goofy sense of humor.

I missed the sarcasm, sorry. It took me a couple times reading that sentence to figure it out, though.

Maybe it is I that is the goofy one

tgwinn · 06/12/2006, 11:28 AM

It's ok..maybe wasn't as funny as I thought.. anyway, I won't try to pull it off again in a purely textual format where the sarcasm can be easily missed. Ok, back to topic...so sorry for the hijack of thread.

captbunzo · 06/12/2006, 11:34 AM

I caught the sarcasm - and I always appreciate a good hijacking of a thread...

And just for the record, that was an article on CRAB biology.

tgwinn · 06/12/2006, 11:42 AM

I knew it was on crab biology.

I just did a very bad job of getting the quote right with the little "quote" button. My bad, and certainly nothing personal meant. Anyway, that is a very cool thing to suddenly "discover" something in the tank that wasn't put there...lol Oh, I bought the octo from luvabunny this weekend and got him or her put back in the tank with some angry red color flashes..lol This tank with the octo is my first foray into anything salt so hopefully all will go well.

captbunzo · 06/12/2006, 11:55 AM

That's quite a foray.... Make sure you keep that tank covered!

tgwinn · 06/12/2006, 12:01 PM

yeah, we did the same thing that she did...duct taped the edges of the glass all around the back of the tank to keep him in there. Also, used the rock on the glass lid for a weight to help in that area too. I just went home and mimicked the exact setup she had so he wouldn't be as stressed from the move. I did notice after getting everything set up last night that all the parameters were good except the nitrates were pretty high. I might have to do a bunch of small water changes to bring that back into the normal range. Or is there a better way with saltwater that I don't know about?

captbunzo · 06/12/2006, 12:13 PM

This will sound like strange advice... But I would adjust the nitrates down slowly over a number of water changes - say over a week. Also, you might add a skimmer to the tank. I do not believe she had one on it. Octos are very messy eaters, from what I have read. A Coralife Super Skimmer 65 can be got for $80 or so and would do the trick nicely.

tgwinn · 06/12/2006, 12:17 PM

nope no skimmer on the tank, but that is a good idea! I had planned small water changes over a week or two period. I would never do a huge change unless just absolutely necessary. I learned that lesson with freshwater...the hard way..lol Although, I never really had any huge problems with any fish I have had.

06/11/2006, 02:57 PM	#1
captbunzo Premium Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: South Ascot, Berkshire, England Posts: 3,950	Yet Another Mystery Crab Hey, folks.... This hobby never ceases to amaze me as to the stuff you can find in your tank after months. I have discovered a small "mystery crab" in my tank recently. This sucker is probably about 1-1.5 inches across, including legs. I found it in my tank today and snapped some pics. Lovely little hitchhiker. Anyhow, I am curious if anyone knows what this is. Now, I know that crabs can be hard to identify. But anyhow. Larger pics can be seen by going to those on flickr, here: http://flickr.com/photos/captbunzo/1...7594143172842/ __________________ Paul Thompson South Ascot, Berkshire, England RK: Where only bad things happen fast... CRAZY 4 the CRASE - Sometime 2008 Current Tank Info: 180 litre UK Reef

06/11/2006, 06:54 PM	#3
chris4693 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Sulphur, Okahoma Posts: 631	Cool looking crab! From the looks of its claws they seem to be rounded, like an emerald crab, which would be good cause it could be a scavenger of vegi's. Sharp pointed claws like a gorilla crab would most likely be a meat eater, eating snails, other crabs and fish it could catch. Just my guess, I could be wrong, someone please correct me if I am. __________________ Chris Howe Yahoo ID: chris4693 Current Tank Info: 100gal - SPS Reef

06/11/2006, 08:51 PM	#4
djc1026 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Lawton Posts: 1,061	Paul, if I were to guess, I would say some species of gorilla crab. Chris, the claws look pointed to me, not with the little ice cream scoops on the ends like mithrax. Well, there you go, no better off than before Three replies, three answers Dave __________________ Dave Current Tank Info: 150 gallon FOWLR -- 29 Gal Misc

06/11/2006, 10:59 PM	#5
kpk Been Reefin' Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Elk City, OK Posts: 2,306	Vote for a Gorilla here too. I had one and had fish disappearing... __________________ Starting over!!! Rimless 90g 48.5x24.5x18 Planet Aquarium, PVC bottom, 1/2" glass, center external overflow, black back, barebottom, H&S skimmer, 40g sump, DIY stand, etc. http://www.reefcentral.com/ Current Tank Info: 90g Rimless in the works

06/12/2006, 09:08 AM	#7
captbunzo Premium Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: South Ascot, Berkshire, England Posts: 3,950	For what's it's worth, Dr. Ron Shimek over in his Marine Depot forum claimed this appeared to be a grapsid crab. He also commented, interestingly enough, that to do a better identification he needed a better (top down) picture of the carapace. One benefit of it being a grapsid is that, he said, they stay fairly small. Of course, that's a pretty relative term... The he posted a link to this article on basic crap biology and identification. And, btw, a grapsid is not a gorilla crab. Gorillas are xanthids. Not that any of this means anything. This is just, as djc1026 said, a fourth answer that may or not be correct. At least the article was interesting... __________________ Paul Thompson South Ascot, Berkshire, England RK: Where only bad things happen fast... CRAZY 4 the CRASE - Sometime 2008 Current Tank Info: 180 litre UK Reef

06/11/2006, 03:38 PM	#2
sadsak Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: OKLAHOMA CITY Posts: 1,054	My guess is a decorator crab or something really close to that! Rarely will you ever get a good hitchhiker.

06/11/2006, 11:21 PM	#6
dummyterminal Moved On Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Moore, OK Posts: 493	pic of a crab i found on google labled as a gorilla... they look awefuly close could it be the same paul whitby we all know???

06/12/2006, 09:16 AM	#8
pwhitby Team RC Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 9,137	Hey...look who took that pic of the Gorilla crab! __________________ Paul W Whitby Ph.D

06/12/2006, 11:07 AM	#11
kpk Been Reefin' Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Elk City, OK Posts: 2,306	True Whitby. Come to think of it down in the gulf I have caught crabs that look like that and the one I had. They just call them rock crabs. I brought one back one time and it was bad news for a damsel he was with lol... Kyle __________________ Starting over!!! Rimless 90g 48.5x24.5x18 Planet Aquarium, PVC bottom, 1/2" glass, center external overflow, black back, barebottom, H&S skimmer, 40g sump, DIY stand, etc. http://www.reefcentral.com/ Current Tank Info: 90g Rimless in the works

06/12/2006, 11:19 AM	#13
tgwinn Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Choctaw, Oklahoma Posts: 45	Ok...sorry..i was only kidding Excuse my goofy sense of humor.

06/12/2006, 11:28 AM	#15
tgwinn Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Choctaw, Oklahoma Posts: 45	It's ok..maybe wasn't as funny as I thought.. anyway, I won't try to pull it off again in a purely textual format where the sarcasm can be easily missed. Ok, back to topic...so sorry for the hijack of thread.

06/12/2006, 11:34 AM	#16
captbunzo Premium Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: South Ascot, Berkshire, England Posts: 3,950	I caught the sarcasm - and I always appreciate a good hijacking of a thread... And just for the record, that was an article on CRAB biology. __________________ Paul Thompson South Ascot, Berkshire, England RK: Where only bad things happen fast... CRAZY 4 the CRASE - Sometime 2008 Current Tank Info: 180 litre UK Reef

06/12/2006, 11:42 AM	#17
tgwinn Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Choctaw, Oklahoma Posts: 45	I knew it was on crab biology. I just did a very bad job of getting the quote right with the little "quote" button. My bad, and certainly nothing personal meant. Anyway, that is a very cool thing to suddenly "discover" something in the tank that wasn't put there...lol Oh, I bought the octo from luvabunny this weekend and got him or her put back in the tank with some angry red color flashes..lol This tank with the octo is my first foray into anything salt so hopefully all will go well.

06/12/2006, 11:55 AM	#18
captbunzo Premium Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: South Ascot, Berkshire, England Posts: 3,950	That's quite a foray.... Make sure you keep that tank covered! __________________ Paul Thompson South Ascot, Berkshire, England RK: Where only bad things happen fast... CRAZY 4 the CRASE - Sometime 2008 Current Tank Info: 180 litre UK Reef

06/12/2006, 12:01 PM	#19
tgwinn Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Choctaw, Oklahoma Posts: 45	yeah, we did the same thing that she did...duct taped the edges of the glass all around the back of the tank to keep him in there. Also, used the rock on the glass lid for a weight to help in that area too. I just went home and mimicked the exact setup she had so he wouldn't be as stressed from the move. I did notice after getting everything set up last night that all the parameters were good except the nitrates were pretty high. I might have to do a bunch of small water changes to bring that back into the normal range. Or is there a better way with saltwater that I don't know about?

06/12/2006, 12:13 PM	#20
captbunzo Premium Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: South Ascot, Berkshire, England Posts: 3,950	This will sound like strange advice... But I would adjust the nitrates down slowly over a number of water changes - say over a week. Also, you might add a skimmer to the tank. I do not believe she had one on it. Octos are very messy eaters, from what I have read. A Coralife Super Skimmer 65 can be got for $80 or so and would do the trick nicely. __________________ Paul Thompson South Ascot, Berkshire, England RK: Where only bad things happen fast... CRAZY 4 the CRASE - Sometime 2008 Current Tank Info: 180 litre UK Reef

06/12/2006, 12:17 PM	#21
tgwinn Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Choctaw, Oklahoma Posts: 45	nope no skimmer on the tank, but that is a good idea! I had planned small water changes over a week or two period. I would never do a huge change unless just absolutely necessary. I learned that lesson with freshwater...the hard way..lol Although, I never really had any huge problems with any fish I have had.