Please ID this crab for me

[aquarookie]

Here you go folks. My new hitchhiker. Is he a keeper? He has a VERY elongated body, and sharp little claws. If he stays small, I don't mind having him around. If he will get huge and kill everything in sight, I don't want him :lol:. For now he is tiny.

 

[ronj]

looks like a baby snow crab to me with those long legs!!! LOL j/k...i have no idea

 

[aquarookie]

Well, I am guessing that if I let him into my sump he can't hurt anything. If he lives, there is nothing for him to kill there... If he dies, he is so tiny he won't pollute anything and probably will get eaten by hermits. There are a few damsels in the sump, so I throw food in there. I imagine he can eat the leftovers

 

[nano_reeflover]

He doesnt look like a dangerous one due to the structure of his claws, but its hard to tell what he is without actually looking closely at him. I'd say keep it around (in the sump) and just observe it for a while to see what it eats.

 

[nano_reeflover]

haha you post while i was writing!

 

[aquarookie]

Nano, I bet you are jealous! I bet you want him! Hee hee hee :lol:

Yeah, his claws look like those of an arrow crab. I don't think this little fella can cause any harm, especially in the sump. I guess before I release him from his jail, I will look at his underside to see if he's really a he or a she

 

[nano_reeflover]

haha! yea i do want him. soon he shall be mine... mwhahaha!!:evil: :lol:

 

[aquarookie]

Well, if you have connections in the cloning world, we could make enough of these guys to share with the whole world of aquarium hobbyists!

 

[LeslieH]

That's a galatheid crab. They're closer relatives to hermits than to true crabs. Most of them seem to be either particle feeders or eat algae & smaller inverts like pods & worms. Harmless and maybe even beneficial.

 

[aquarookie]

Oh, thanks for letting me know . Too bad I put it in the sump already... it will probably get eaten by that giant hermit I banished to the sump a while ago. The hermit was bothering my toadstools... Oh well, I hope the little guy makes it. Do you know how big they get?

 

[LeslieH]

Most of the reef rock galatheids I've collected have been reproductive at 1 inch or smaller. In your sump it will probably find a tiny crevice it can wedge itself into for protection.

 

[aquarookie]

Very cool . I did notice it scooting into a crevice as soon as I placed in the sump. Hopefully it will be OK. Thanks for the info!