Shame face crab: yes or no?

[seanothon]

Was at the LFS yesterday and saw they had a very interesting crab in a tank all by itself. With a little research i found it to be a Shame Face Crab (Calappa granulata). I like oddballs like this but am concerned about its descructive reputation. The guy at the store said it was demolishing someones tank and they gave it to the store. The only thing that i would worry that the crab could kill is my Longhorn Cowfish. The crab was about 3" wide and 1.5" thick. My Cowfish is about 5.5"
Another reason i am considering this is that people kept saying that my White-spotted Hermit Crab (Dardanus megistos) would also kill the cowfish and it is still fine. Also, i read they are mainly concerned with eating crustations, not fish.
Advice?

 

[speg]

I think they enjoy a diet of snails and explains why their claws are shaped differently. I personally think they're awesome to look at, but nothing something I want in my tank.

 

[seanothon]

hmm. It looks more like a calico crab (Hepatus epheliticus) although i still haven't gotten a good look at the claws

 

[soviettaco]

I personally love crabs, I get fish just to accent my inverts I think

I wanted to get one of these guys myself but i would need a new tank to do it. I may get one in the future but now won't work. Research these things before you get one though, as Speg pointed out they like to eat snails and smaller crabs, another thing is they like to surface and spit streams of water out which can always be problematic. I also think they may be land/aquatic crabs so you will want a tank with a ledge or something so it can surface but don't quote me on that. They get pretty big too so make sure it has plenty of room to grow. I say yes but make sure you have all the proper stuff.

 

[seanothon]

Thanks for that video. It was pretty interesting. I have a huge hermit crab in my tank and i don't really want to start a crab fight. I guess ill just stick with the hermit for now

 

[soviettaco]

Well there's a million other cool crabs you can get that won't hassle your other inhabitants. Anemone crab, porcelain crab, sally lightfoot crab, pom pom crab (personal fave), sponge crabs (I want to get one of these guys they are sweet), strawberry crabs, decorator crabs, and more but I can't think of them

 

[seanothon]

Originally Posted by SOVIETTACO
http:///forum/post/3272249
Well there's a million other cool crabs you can get that won't hassle your other inhabitants. Anemone crab, porcelain crab, sally lightfoot crab, pom pom crab (personal fave), sponge crabs (I want to get one of these guys they are sweet), strawberry crabs, decorator crabs, and more but I can't think of them

My problem with alot of those is that even though they won't hurt the stuff in my tank, my stuff will hurt them. I have a snowflake eel that is about 2' and that cowfish would probably go after a smaller crab

 

[soviettaco]

hmmm, thats sucks.... Though I'm pretty sure nothing is going to want to touch a pom pom crab, it will taste like anemone

 

[speg]

Originally Posted by SOVIETTACO
http:///forum/post/3272249
Well there's a million other cool crabs you can get that won't hassle your other inhabitants. Anemone crab, porcelain crab, sally lightfoot crab, pom pom crab (personal fave), sponge crabs (I want to get one of these guys they are sweet), strawberry crabs, decorator crabs, and more but I can't think of them

Careful with decorators.. they'll tear stuff up to make themselves pretty..
I've never been able to keep porcelain crabs alive long-term.. probably because they need phyto.
Sally lightfoots get aggressive when they're big.
Aren't strawberry crabs really bad?
Pom Pom crabs seem safe.......

 

[soviettaco]

I've always heard strawberries are peaceful but get a little big in the long run.
And I agree about the decorators, fashionable but destructive

 

[speg]

Originally Posted by SOVIETTACO
http:///forum/post/3272569
I've always heard strawberries are peaceful but get a little big in the long run.
And I agree about the decorators, fashionable but destructive

My wife loves them. Our LFS gets hundreds in at a time.

 

[seanothon]

A Pom Pom crab could be cool