Can anyone ID this crab

reefman22

reefman22

Member
what does it look like? size shape color claws? how fast does it move? is it nocturnal? where did u get him? lol sorry the pic didnt say much to me....lol just playin
REEFMAN
 
arandacole

arandacole

Member
Thanks for the reply -
He is nocturnal - I've never been able to see him outside of the rock he hides in.. of course I can't keep my eyes open late enough to catch him out and about.
He's around 2 inches (across) his claws are pretty thick, but that's not saying much since I really know nothing about crabs. His entire body is a purplish red color. He is pretty fast.
We moved our 90 gallon from my in-laws who had the tank up and running for 5 years. She didn't know she had this crab. We just happened to see him because my hubby was watching a snail that had overturned and the crab came out of the rock, grabbed the snail and ran back inside. Stinker!
I know the pix sucks, but thought I'd at least try :)
Thanks again~!
 
bot587

bot587

Member
I dont think its an emerald (mithrax) crab. Are you sure it went after the snail while it was still alive... most crabs are good detritus feeders and will cleanup dead matter, just a though. Anyways if you want to scare it out use the old baster of hot or cold water technique (usually this will scare it out because of the temperature change.... (DONT DO BOILING WATER THAT WILL KILL IT)
 
hifi

hifi

Member
Emerald Crab was a guess, mine hides all the time & can look diffrent in rock work. I dont think a Emerald Crab would bother a live snail.
 
arandacole

arandacole

Member
Thanks everyone!
It is definately going after live snails. My hubby watched the snail turn over and saw the stinker jet out and grab it...
I think it might be an emerald crab (the lady who had the tank said she bought a bunch of them and thought they had all died)
My only confusion is that I thought Emerald would refer to the color
- But I guess not LOL!
Thank you so much!
Love,
A
 
hifi

hifi

Member
I hope its not, I dont want mine to kill my snails. Maybe yours just developed a tast for escargot
anyway heres a link , to this site of corse, for some info & a pic see if you hubby can ID him, I would like to know if it is a emrald crab. clike me!
 
arandacole

arandacole

Member
Originally Posted by HiFi
I hope its not, I dont want mine to kill my snails. Maybe yours just developed a tast for escargot
anyway heres a link , to this site of corse, for some info & a pic see if you hubby can ID him, I would like to know if it is a emrald crab. clike me!

That looks very much like him, but I'm guessing it's not... he is not green at all. He is a dark purple/red color...
I'll keep researching and trying to get a better picture.
Due to how much rock we have in the tank, even if I get him out of the rock, I doubt I'll be able to see him for more than a second.
Thanks!
A
 
hifi

hifi

Member
I got my emrald for free , it was hiding on a rock I bought. They can hide so well it really isn't funny case when you get a good hitchicker its ok but the odd time you get a little stinker & it can be hard to catch & eat all your good stuff. I wish you luck & suggest maybe getting rid of it unless you want it? You may have to use a trap.... By the way they come out at night try getting a look at about say 2 or so in the morrning. Mine come out about 1 hour after light's out, they get starlted easy with a flashlight. Good luck
 
arandacole

arandacole

Member
arandacole

arandacole

Member
I'm still not convinced... but, we had a guy come out to explain to us what we have on our tank and to tell us how everything works... I asked him to take a look at the crab hiding in the rock... as soon as he flashed the light on it he said it was an Emerald Crab. He said that normally they will not go after snails that are alive, but since we have no algea for him to eat that it may explain why he's going after the snails. I do not know if this guy knows what he is talking about... but...
The mystery goes on...
I'm almost getting attached to the little guy - he's caused me a lot of time in curiousity and he's pretty sneaky... I may just name him LOL!
Love,
A
 
D

davidmwj

Guest
Originally Posted by chunks
I highly doubt its a mithrax, they wouldnt actively hunt a snail. I really think its a gorilla crab, they can be real terrors in a tank
does it look something like any of these?
http://www.tampabaysaltwater.com/the...elain_crab.gif
http://www.tampabaysaltwater.com/the...orillacrab.jpg

I just posted looking for a crab faq in the New Hobbyist forum. My crab looks like the Gorilla in this pic. Are they actually gray with black tips on the claws, because that's what mine is? It's hard to tell from the pic. I got him with some emeralds I bought and he looked like an emerald (except the color) when I bought him, but he is growing too fast to be. He was the smallest and now one of the largest. I swear he was stalking my blood red shrimp last night, will they do that? Then I saw him trying to steal food from my lta. I thought the lta would sting him/eat him when he was in the tentacles, but he didn't. I think he is living in the cave where the lta's foot is now.
Hope you don't mind me crashing the party.
 
chunks

chunks

Member
Looking at the claws is the easiest way to tell. Emeralds generally have a bowed claw, the gorillas claws mesh together. If your crab has black tipped claws, its most likely a gorilla, mithrax almost always have some white on their claw tips
 
D

davidmwj

Guest
Well, I went ahead and took some pictures of this guy tonight. He does have some white on his black tips, but he just went after my clown that you see in the one pic which is why he is up on the glass. I think I want to take him out even if he is just an emerald.


 
N

n_sarno

Guest
if you catch him I'll take him.. I can send you a box w/ packing supplies to send him back to me in.
LMK
 
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