Please ID this crab

FishIsGood2 · #1 03-22-2009, 06:46 PM

Caught this one last night. Probably this is a bad one. Just want to confirm.

Myka · #2 03-22-2009, 06:51 PM

Probably a Gorilla Crab (Xanthid species), but its hard to nail down a precise species with crabs because there are hundreds of species, and many of them look similar.

brizzo · #3 03-22-2009, 07:00 PM

Ooooh he's a keeper! Well, in the sump that is

Myka · #4 03-22-2009, 07:01 PM

Oh, I should have added...Gorilla crabs are not reef safe. The sump or refugium is a good place to keep one. They can be beneficial scavengers in that setting, and do not deserve to be flushed or squashed. If you do not want to keep him find someone who will please.

FishIsGood2 · #5 03-22-2009, 07:13 PM

thx, myka. I definitely won't flush or squash it. i will keep it as is - within a jar inside my tank (the tank is in the setup phase anyway) for the time being.

Zoaelite · #6 03-22-2009, 07:36 PM

Wow, he just looks evil. Might be the demonic Red eyes and the predisposition to want to destroy and eat everything that moves... But ehh perhaps hes a vegan?
Levi

sunce_22 · #7 03-22-2009, 08:07 PM

I had one of those crabs hitchhike in on one of my rocks. I still remember the red eyes, almost burned in my memory. Anyways the way that I found him was I saw him attacking one of my snails and trying to drag it into his hole.

So definitely a sump creature lol, if you like your snails that is!

Myka · #8 03-22-2009, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FishIsGood2

thx, myka. I definitely won't flush or squash it. i will keep it as is - within a jar inside my tank (the tank is in the setup phase anyway) for the time being.

Don't forget to feed him then since he can't get to any food, and I hope you don't keep him there for too long.