Teddy Bear

[moneyman]

My zoanthids starting to disappear all the sudden. The only culprit is a teddy bear crab. He was cute at 1". But, at 2+", he is now scaring me. So, this is my attempt to catch him:
Crab hunting a piece of squid on a rubble LR.

This is how he looks like. Those eyes are just devilish. You can see the black pinchers on his claws.

He would butt against the rock and try to knock down the piece of squid.

I grabbed him with some BBQ thong. He spontaneously self-amputate one of his claw and escaped. The entire limb just seperated into 3 parts. The freakiest thing I ever seen.

There is one more claw with him. I dont think I'll rearrange anything in my tank for a while. Not with angry Moby roaming around...

My first attempt to capture him failed. The self-amputation made me lost my grip. I'll go crabbing some other time.

 

[ghola5]

lol that is so funny and he is so scary looking lol

 

[ric maniac]

lol its the hair doo from hell!!! and sorry but thats kinda commical. i feel your pain tho. maybee if you do the same thing with the other claw he will drop it and will not be a threat when getting him out!

 

[renogaw]

I thought teddy bears were ok in our tanks

 

[earlybird]

Originally Posted by renogaw
I thought teddy bears were ok in our tanks

I think the rule of thumb is the shape of the claw. Rounded = okay, pointed = bad.

 

[jtrzerocool]

that cran looks like a monster!

good luck with the extraction!

 

[happyvac]

I hope you mean you grabbed him with a BBQ tong.

 

[renogaw]

that claw looks more like a gorilla crab claw though. every teddy bear crab picture i can find shows no claws really.

 

[moneyman]

Originally Posted by HappyVac
I hope you mean you grabbed him with a BBQ tong.
did I? I was careful about that word too... lol ...

 

[renogaw]

Originally Posted by MoneyMan
I grabbed him with some BBQ thong.
hehe

 

[moneyman]

Originally Posted by renogaw
that claw looks more like a gorilla crab claw though. every teddy bear crab picture i can find shows no claws really.
cra***. This site doesn't show a teddy bear crab with black pinchers. Thanks renogaw... Its kill time!!!

 

[renogaw]

don't kill, put in fuge

 

[jtrzerocool]

if you dont want him in your fuge ill take him off your hands!!

 

[ric maniac]

Originally Posted by earlybird
I think the rule of thumb is the shape of the claw. Rounded = okay, pointed = bad.
ok, im not saying your wrong but what about emerald crabs? they have pointed claws and they are reef safe.

 

[earlybird]

Originally Posted by ric maniac
ok, im not saying your wrong but what about emerald crabs? they have pointed claws and they are reef safe.

It's okay I think I am wrong. Can't find where I read it, still looking. Here's some info I copied on Gorilla Crabs.

"You want to keep a lookout for Gorilla Crabs (xanthid species). These pesky buggers are predators that can cause damage to your reef, eating anemones, clams, and anything else they can get their claws around.
The sure-fire way to spot one of these is to look for the black tips on their claws. As Gorilla crabs get larger, they become quite "hairy" all over."

 

[jhebi]

Should put him against a Mantis......

 

[moneyman]

Originally Posted by jhebi
Should put him against a Mantis......
lol - a friend of mine has a agressive tank. I might just introduce him to 'The Wild' and let him fend for himself

 

[coral keeper]

If you dont want the teady bear crab ill take him!

 

[anonome]

Originally Posted by Coral Keeper
If you dont want the teady bear crab ill take him!
It's not a teddy bear, definately a gorrilla crab.

 

[renogaw]

Originally Posted by ric maniac
ok, im not saying your wrong but what about emerald crabs? they have pointed claws and they are reef safe.

emerald crabs have cupped tips to their claws, for scooping up algae.