Finally Caught the crab!! need id

[marvinsae]

it's sitting in my sump now but here it is....

http://i748.photobucket.com/albums/xx125/marvinsae/DSC00842.jpg

http://i748.photobucket.com/albums/xx125/marvinsae/DSC00840.jpg

[no_bs]

Very nice, just saw one yesterday in our 55g holding tank, feeling around. Couldn't catch him, but looked like he was scavaging for food. He has probably been in there for 2 years, so he can't be to bad. All the corals haven't been touched.

[globaldesigns]

If his claws are flat on the ends where the tiips touch each other, then it would be an algae eater. If the claws are very pointy and more like claws for ripping things, then I would flush it.

[marvinsae]

im guessin he's bad cause he hitchhiked on a live rock from my friends tank and it killed his reef lobster...

[Marlin65]

Remove all crabs are bad.:twised::twised::twised:
Crabs are opportunity scavengers it will be fine if you feed lots but when you don't what will it eat???

[soapy]

Are the tips of its pincers cup shaped? If so it could be a black mithrax. Which I suspect are very similar to the the green ones. Some people have no problems with green mithrax crabs while others report that they go rogue when they get big.

[Marlin65]

Are the tips of its pincers cup shaped? If so it could be a black mithrax. Which I suspect are very similar to the the green ones. Some people have no problems with green mithrax crabs while others report that they go rogue when they get big.

It does not look like that at all. Look at those huge compact claws and those harry legs not to mention those red eyes.:biggrin: :wink: its a killer for sure.......

[marvinsae]

lol thanks for all the input guys, i guess ill leave it in my sump...maybe i should feed it aswell, i dont even know what it eats. or maybe my LFS will take it

[soapy]

It does not look like that at all. Look at those huge compact claws and those harry legs not to mention those red eyes.:biggrin: :wink: its a killer for sure.......

You could be right. It is hard to tell from those pictures. I thought it kind of looked like this guy here:

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t152496.html

[christyf5]

Remove all crabs are bad.:twised::twised::twised:
Crabs are opportunity scavengers it will be fine if you feed lots but when you don't what will it eat???

+1. Send him to Browntown. I have one of those little bastages in my tank right now. When I catch him, he's going flush.

[marvinsae]

You could be right. It is hard to tell from those pictures. I thought it kind of looked like this guy here:

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t152496.html

he DOES look quite similar...although less hairy and less bumpy. my crabs pretty small though, about 4-5 cm long

[soapy]

+1. Send him to Browntown. I have one of those little bastages in my tank right now. When I catch him, he's going flush.

Send him to me. We love those little underwater Mechas!

[Marlin65]

lol thanks for all the input guys, i guess ill leave it in my sump...maybe i should feed it aswell, i dont even know what it eats. or maybe my LFS will take it

It will eat all meaty foods. Your LFS will not take it you can let it live in your sump most likely it will find enough to eat. That or flush it or feed it to something else. Trigger/Mantis

[Lance]

Catch it and kill it! The only good crab is a dead crab. :twised:

[Murminator]

Yeah I would "rock" him.....bwahahaha

[DiverDude]

im guessin he's bad cause he hitchhiked on a live rock from my friends tank and it killed his reef lobster...

Welllllllll.....do YOU have a reef lobster ? If not, you may be fine.

Like so many other situations, he may be fine -in YOUR tank....for now. Or not.

If you like crabs, watch him closely and let him stay. Otherwise, it's a one-way ticket to brown-town.

[Polscot]

everyone crys and complains about crabs.....sorry all but F u dont flush it, not only is that a BS way to get rid of it but see if maybe someone else wants it, or use it as food for another reef ecosystem mantis or triggers, but to simply flush it? thats bs, next time your cat comes on my yard im going to rip it apart and flush it :P theres no diff,. oh...btw ill take any unwated crab HH u got for my predator invert tank lol

[Frenchie2]

Oh, c'mon now, don't be so mean!!! It's a live critter that has the right to live. I found one, pretty similar, in my tank and put it in my sump with some pieces of LR and he seems pretty content. I feed him 2 little shrimp pellets every 3-4 days and he just extends his claws out from under the LR and grabs the pellets. He comes out at night and wanders around. Has been in the sump for the last 3 months...

[Lance]

Oh, c'mon now, don't be so mean!!! It's a live critter that has the right to live. I found one, pretty similar, in my tank and put it in my sump with some pieces of LR and he seems pretty content. I feed him 2 little shrimp pellets every 3-4 days and he just extends his claws out from under the LR and grabs the pellets. He comes out at night and wanders around. Has been in the sump for the last 3 months...


Hehe. If it's not so bad why is it in your sump? :mrgreen:

[paddyob]

Yea things have a right to live. Ok... well if it kills a $50 fish who is gonna cry? Not the crab. I lost a couple fish to a red eye crab then he got the axe.

[mike31154]

Looks like a mithrax to me, but can't be absolutely sure until I see the cups on the end of the pincers. I have at least two good sized mithrax in my 77 and they've been great scavengers... without bothering any of my other 'desireable' critters. I have no plans on catching them until I've seen some damage and there hasn't been any since I bought my system used. I assume they were hitchhikers as well. I've seen them scrape algae, coralline off the rocks and glass. Generally quite wary and are spooked fairly easily by anything approaching them.

[tony_3a]

I saw a crab the other night in my system, my tank is only about 4 months old and i bought all brand new live rock from oc and i did a soda water dip on it all and about 4 crabs jumped out, but i lost one of the chromis in my school im not saying the crabs the one that did it, but I can only assume.