Crab identification.

muckworm

muckworm

Member
Sorry I don't have a picture, but I think I might have a problem crab in my tank. It is blue like a blue hermit, but it does not use a shell like a hermit. it has its own armor. Its a little larger than a quarter. Its eyes are flush against its body unlike a hermits which appear to be on sticks. It has large claws. It walks side to side rather than front to back like a hermit. It's made a home in one of my peices of LR in a cave and it only comes out once in a while when I feed my fish. It also blocks the entrance of the cave with little rocks and spent snail shells. I'm pretty sure it killed my firefish goby and my clownfish have been acting strange ever since this crab started moving around the tank more. Does anyone have any idea what it could be?
 
terminus est

terminus est

Member
whats the primary shell color and the color of the claws. Where did you get your rock from? We have blue crabs here on the Atlantic which match your description thus far without going into details. If this is what you have then you might want to put it into its own tank and raise it and then have a small meal heheh. They are opportunistic eaters and will not hesitate to eat a sleeping fish if they find it. Careful of the claws too if it has any size, they hurt. Not rock crab bad but still have a hell of a pinch.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
It could be one of 1000 different crabs. Shell color is irrelevant in most cases (not all) because it can sometimes change depending on weather, diet, stress, etc.
I would remove the crab and either keep it in a species tank if it's interesting, or turn it into fish food.
To catch it, place a tall drinking glass leaning the rock the crab is in. Rubberband a piece of meaty seafood to a small rock and place it in the bottom of the glass just before lights out. The crab will climb down to get the meat but not be able to climb out.
If you see the crab in the glass remove it immediately. The stress of being in the glass may cause the crab to molt and it can climb out while its legs are still soft.
 
muckworm

muckworm

Member
By the way, when I mentioned that my clowns were acting strange up above, I think that they just layed eggs! Not positive cuz I was only home for about 5 minutes. But the male is guarding a spot that they dug out of one of my peices of base rock. On the overhang of the section of rock that they dug out I saw small reddish color sacs attached to the rocks. Probably a few dozed. I can only assume they are eggs, but I really don't have any experience with this.....
 
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