Hitchhikers - yuk

[huma2011]

So we found this little guy in our new "coral and two tiny fish" tank last night. It has two front claws, which you cannot see in this picture.

What is it and how harmful is it?

 

[jay0705]

What color are the claws

 

[smfoister]

I'm going to take a stab and say gorilla crab or something similar and related. Not coral safe... You'll want to get rid of that little bugger.

 

[jay0705]

Stone crab maybe

 

[huma2011]

What color are the claws

He is pretty tiny and hard to see but they appear to be the same color as the rest of his body.

 

[jay0705]

Hmm its an old saying, but I believe if the tips are black its bad. It almost looks like an emerald crab just not as green.

 

[huma2011]

I'm going to take a stab and say gorilla crab or something similar and related. Not coral safe... You'll want to get rid of that little bugger.

What is the best way to get it out of my tank. Of course, it is quick to hide in the rock.

 

[jay0705]

If its not bothering anything I would leave it

 

[huma2011]

If its not bothering anything I would leave it

What if smfoister is correct, and it's a gorrila crab? Only way to tell is if it's tips turn black?

 

[jay0705]

There are soo many diff types of crabs its hard to tell unless someone has seen the same. Its small now so I wouldn't worry too much. What fish do u have?

 

[silverado61]

I can't remember the name but I think they're coral killers. I'll have to look it up.

 

[silverado61]

If this is what you have, its a sea spider and it is indeed a coral killer. It usually hitchhikes into your tank as larvae. Pycnogonids are one of the few animals that can eat ZOA's and they lay the larvae inside your ZOA's which how they get inside your tank. I really don't know of any way to get rid of them except blasting them with boiling water but make sure they are clear of anything else so you don't have colatoral damage.

 

[silverado61]

"Pycnogonum Littorale" in case you want to Google it.

 

[silverado61]

And I stand corrected. They are not coral killers, however, they do suck the fluids out of LPs and soft corals leaving them alive. The females are the largest. Growing up to 26mm. You can also get rid of them by sucking them up into a turkey baster.

 

[bang guy]

I don't think that's a Sea Spider, it looks like a crab to me.

 

[smfoister]

I really think it's a gorilla crab. I wouldn't leave it in there just because it's small. I mean, when should you remove it? AFTER it has killed your $50 fish?

If you google "removing gorilla crab from tank" you'll find lots of options. However, what I likely would try to do first is isolate it in a specific rock and pull the rock out.

 

[huma2011]

I really think it's a gorilla crab. I wouldn't leave it in there just because it's small. I mean, when should you remove it? AFTER it has killed your $50 fish?

If you google "removing gorilla crab from tank" you'll find lots of options. However, what I likely would try to do first is isolate it in a specific rock and pull the rock out.

I think I agree. Looks like a gorilla crab. However, I cannot remove the specific rock as all my rocks are glued together. This is in my pico/nano tank (8 gal) and I have only four rocks. I will check out Google to see what my other options are for getting this guy out, and then what to do with him when I do.

 

[smfoister]

 

[bang guy]

I've used a tall water glass before. Just lean it against the rock with a piece of seafood in the bottom. At night the crab will climb into the glass to get the food and not be able to climb back out.

 

[silverado61]

Sorry. I was looking at the pic with my cell. I checked it out when I got home and it seems like I'm the only one that was wrong. My bad.