Crab ID from Gulf Shores, Alabama

bearman88 · Sep 16, 2022

I brought this little fella home from the beach when he was about the size of a dime 3 months ago. I didn't think he made it, but to my surprise he has grown 3-4x.

I can't find an ID on google image search or R2R posts.. any ideas? He's elusive and does not appear to be a threat to my coral/inverts..?

Cool looking crab!

Sshannon · Sep 16, 2022

Possibly a juvenile stone crab.

fisheriesdoc · Oct 23, 2022

Yep, juvenile stone crab.

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal · Oct 23, 2022

Sshannon said:
Possibly a juvenile stone crab.

I was going to say, he looks tasty

bearman88 · Oct 24, 2022

He continues to grow.. I will post pics but I got him around a quarter size, now he's about 2in

fisheriesdoc · Oct 24, 2022

bearman88 said:
He continues to grow.. I will post pics but I got him around a quarter size, now he's about 2in

I was doing some research on stone crabs a few years back and thought it might be fun to keep a juvenile and throw it in my reef tank. It was great to watch, but I eventually pulled it out when I grew tired of it rearranging my rocks.

Stone crabs grow rapidly when they are young so you should see a lot of change over the next few months.

jabberwock · Oct 24, 2022

following

bearman88 · Oct 27, 2022

Here's a video today while I was gluing frags.. he is fun to play with

also, pistol makes his appearance at the 0:03 mark, showcasing his dead snail trophies

fisheriesdoc · Oct 27, 2022

That crab has a ton of character. Definitely a stone crab- Menippe adina. I grew up near Gulf Shores and spent a lot of time diving there and in Orange Beach. We’d often grab some claws while shore diving.

bearman88 · Oct 27, 2022

fisheriesdoc said:
That crab has a ton of character. Definitely a stone crab- Menippe adina. I grew up near Gulf Shores and spent a lot of time diving there and in Orange Beach. We’d often grab some claws while shore diving.

Thanks for confirming ID. Any idea how big he will get? I just don't want him to kill any of my fish, especially my maroon clown. He hasn't nipped at any coral yet.

bearman88 · Oct 28, 2022

Alright after further research, I have to get this guy out of here. Stone crabs have the potential to be pretty destructive, someone on R2R mentioning pulling at glass sealant, tearing up equipment, etc. Killing a lionfish allegedly.

Also word of warning these may not be legal to grab from the beach.. lesson learned just didn't think of it as he was so tiny.

Any idea of a LFS or anyone would take him?...

WVNed · Oct 28, 2022

Yours doesn't look like my stone crabs. Does it have 4 legs on each side. I only see 3.

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal · Oct 28, 2022

bearman88 said:
Alright after further research, I have to get this guy out of here. Stone crabs have the potential to be pretty destructive, someone on R2R mentioning pulling at glass sealant, tearing up equipment, etc. Killing a lionfish allegedly.

Also word of warning these may not be legal to grab from the beach.. lesson learned just didn't think of it as he was so tiny.

Any idea of a LFS or anyone would take him?...

Put him in an extra tank and keep him until he's big enough to eat!

fisheriesdoc · Oct 28, 2022

bearman88 said:
Thanks for confirming ID. Any idea how big he will get? I just don't want him to kill any of my fish, especially my maroon clown. He hasn't nipped at any coral yet.

Big. They easily reach 3.5 inches carapace before terminal molt. Females tend to be bigger than males. Here is a photo of a large adult I caught in August of the same species.

fisheriesdoc · Oct 28, 2022

WVNed said:
Yours doesn't look like my stone crabs. Does it have 4 legs on each side. I only see 3.

You have a different species- Menippe mercenaria. It’s more common in peninsular Florida and the Big Bend. It becomes replaced by Menippe adina in the western gulf, with a hybridization zone in the panhandle. There is a third species in the Gulf, Menippe nodifrons, but it is mainly found in south Florida and on oil platforms.