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View Full Version : hitchiker crab ID please

daniella3d
06-18-2011, 11:20 PM
Hi,

I found this little baby crab 2 months ago on a frag. I originally put it in my nano and after 2 months I am now closing down my nano. I did not see the crab for a month or more so I thought it was dead but it is alive and grew like 3 time the original size. It is now nearly 3" from one side to the other with the legs. The body is about the size of a quarter.

I think it's an emerald crab of some sort. It never dammaged any of my coral, or attacked anything either. Seem to be reef safe so far.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtmMN9MS0Pk&feature=player_detailpage
Wingin It
06-18-2011, 11:22 PM
Looks like an Emerald crab. :)
turkleton
06-18-2011, 11:30 PM
I agree, it looks like your standard emerald crab.
fishytime
06-18-2011, 11:43 PM
its definitely in the mithrax family.....not an emerald tho.....emeralds aren't mottled like this one..... they are a solid green
reeferious
06-18-2011, 11:45 PM
looks more like a gorilla crab.
daniella3d
06-19-2011, 01:06 AM
no, not at all. Gorilla crab don't have the spoon like shape on their claws and their claws are black at the tip. Mine has green claws with spoon shape at the end, just like any emerald crab.


looks more like a gorilla crab.
daniella3d
06-19-2011, 01:08 AM
I wonder if emerald crab are that solid green when they are young? Could be a young one?


its definitely in the mithrax family.....not an emerald tho.....emeralds aren't mottled like this one..... they are a solid green
toytech
06-19-2011, 04:00 AM
Good grazers to have , last batch of lr i bough i got about 5 of those guys and they eat ever kind of algae i have including the red bubble that went nuts .
paddyob
06-19-2011, 06:10 PM
Not an emerald.
chris121277
06-20-2011, 01:58 AM
Looks identical to the emerald crab I just bought
daniella3d
06-21-2011, 01:41 AM
thanks, I think more and more emerald, since I read that a lot of them are nearly brown, not really green.

Same family anyway.

Looks identical to the emerald crab I just bought
toytech
06-21-2011, 01:51 AM
Fishy time hit it on the head with mithrax family crab , what is sold as an emerald crab is probably a couple of different species of the same family of crab that happen to be green .
bignose
06-21-2011, 02:14 AM
Might be here
http://www.ultimatereef.net/info/iddb/crabs.php