Frustrated, minor success, and an ID please

[markkazdad]

So, the pom-pom crab that seemed to be doing so well when I made a video 10 days ago has either molted or died.

Video for those who missed it:

[video=youtube;WWOA4Gw3HJY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWOA4Gw3HJY[/video]

On the bright side, this coral has sprouted two new stalks. (Sorry, Jaymostella, I don't remember its name.)

And this brownish-red mushroom thing emerged from where we noticed it under a rock a few weeks ago. Yesterday it was back near the large Florida cerith shell. It seems to be going after the remains of the pom-pom. ID please? (That's a blurry bristleworm between the crab and the glass, and to the right of that a nassarius snail proboscis.)

 

[phys]

the mushroom thing is probably a coral.. if the crab hasnt moved in days, its probably dead.. if its a molting, you'll instantly know when you pull it out.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

The round brown coral may well be a mushroom. The other coral looks like a frag of clove coral (clavularia sp.)

Let's hope your pompom crab just molted and is hiding somewhere. It's hard to tell from the picture. If you take it out, you will know whether it's a dead crab or an empty shell.

When my red hermit crab molted for the first time, I totally panicked until the sneaky pants peeked its head out from behind a rock. H@rry would say that it lost its britches.