What kind of crab is this???

[yosemite sam]

Hey all. I found this little guy in some polyps I just bought. I he OK to put in the tank? He is small, about 1 cm wide.

 

[nm reef]

I am not sure of a positive ID...but I've had what looks like the same crab living in a colony of Green Button polys since I added it about 18-20 months ago. I'm fairly certain the crab hitched along with the polyps and in all the time its been in my system I've never seen it wonder far from the polyps....I primarily see it at night and for the most part it appears to munch algaes from between the individual polyps. I consider mine to be a sort of polyp farmer....harvests food from his "farm" of polyps. Mine has never shown any signs of doing damage and its a positive addition in my opinion. At first I was concerned.....cause its sort of mean/agrressive looking....but after months of carefully watching the ugly lil dude I'm convincied that he's no problem.

 

[beth]

I believe it is a decorator crab, which is why its hanging around in the polyps.

 

[yosemite sam]

Uh oh, a decorator crab meaning that when it gets bigger its going to start cutting my corals and sticking stuff on itself? I put it in my 'fuge, I guess I'll see what it does.

 

[matti070]

looks kinda like a small sally lightfoot.

 

[superdust]

I also have a crab that looks just like that, he hiked in on a rock containing yellow polyps. Like NM reef's he stays close to the polyps.