Gall crab?

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Just pulled this off my acanto. Is it a gall crabs? @ISpeakForTheSeas ? @EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal ? @encrustingacro? Will they reproduce? Please help, my Acanthophyllia hasn't been fully open the last few weeks and I think this is why. Will it recover? Is it a gall crab?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Just pulled this off my acanto. Is it a gall crabs? @ISpeakForTheSeas? Will they reproduce? Please help, my Acanthophyllia hasn't been fully open the last few weeks and I think this is why. Will it recover? Is it a gall crab?

Looks like one. Often they bury themselves within coral and eat algae.

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Looks like one. Often they bury themselves within coral and eat algae.

I've heard my fair share of horror stories with these guys, just never dealt with them, do you think there's more or are they solitairy?

 

[bryan47caveman]

How did you find it? Was it obvious because of the colors or did you have to dig it out?

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

How did you find it? Was it obvious because of the colors or did you have to dig it out?

Blended in quite well, saw movement on my acantho (its night, he was out) and he was on the mantle, did blend in as my acantho has a white-black-green polyp, after about 5 minutes I was able to suck him up with a coral feeder

 

[vetteguy53081]

I've heard my fair share of horror stories with these guys, just never dealt with them, do you think there's more or are they solitairy?

Likely a lone hitchhiker and I dont trust them myself

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Likely a lone hitchhiker and I dont trust them myself

Hopefully you're right. Just fed the acantho to help give it back some energy. Seemed to perk back up quickly after I removed the crab

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Hopefully after this I will have taken care of all the pests this acantho came in with

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

@ISpeakForTheSeas is it a gall crab? Any species ID? Never dealt with these and can't quite seem to find a match with this one

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

@ISpeakForTheSeas is it a gall crab? Any species ID? Never dealt with these and can't quite seem to find a match with this one

I'm not sure honestly, but crab ID is tough for me. The head and claws look like a gall crab's, but the body shape looks off to me, and I'm not familiar with a species of crab with that specific color pattern on the shell (there are a surprisingly large number of white crabs with brown stripes similar to this; I know like a dozen, but none of them match this one).

If it was on your acantho, that may be an indication of it being a gall crab or pest crab of some variety, or it may be an indication that your acantho is unhealthy enough to invite predation.

Either way, it looks like it could be a cool sump specimen.

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

I'm not sure honestly, but crab ID is tough for me. The head and claws look like a gall crab's, but the body shape looks off to me, and I'm not familiar with a species of crab with that specific color pattern on the shell (there are a surprisingly large number of white crabs with brown stripes similar to this; I know like a dozen, but none of them match this one).

If it was on your acantho, that may be an indication of it being a gall crab or pest crab of some variety, or it may be an indication that your acantho is unhealthy enough to invite predation.

Either way, it looks like it could be a cool sump specimen.

I did find this taxonomy chart of gall crabs (unfortunately I would have to purchase the article to read it) though it closely resembles #7

Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Yeah, 7 there is Fizesereneia sp. - the genus is one of about three gall crab genera that I know that could potentially host this crab, but I'm not confident on any of them (and it's hard to find pics of the species in the genus to compare with).

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Yeah, 7 there is Fizesereneia sp. - the genus is one of about three gall crab genera that I know that could potentially host this crab, but I'm not confident on any of them (and it's hard to find pics of the species in the genus to compare with).

C

Anyway are they parasitic like most gall crabs? Was removal the right thing to do?

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Also found this site

Lithoscaptus sp. | Brown Spot Coral Gall Crab

Location: Romblon Island Depth: medium depth Cover Photo: Carl-Johan Nilsson Scientific Name: Fizesereneia sp. Type: Romblon Crabs Group: Coral Gall Crabs Family: Cryptochiridae URL: World Register of Marine Species The

the-three-p.com

And is Fizesereneia sp species a possibiliy?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Anyway are they parasitic like most gall crabs? Was removal the right thing to do?

Yeah, Fizesereneia spp. are considered parasitic to corals from the families Mussidae and Lobophylliidae.

And is that species a possibiliy?

A Lithoscaptus sp. is a possibility, but the above isn't quite right either (the closest Lithoscaptus species I know at the moment is L. semperi, and it's off too). Similarly, a Xynomaia sp. is a possibility, but I haven't found one that fits.

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Yeah, Fizesereneia spp. are considered parasitic to corals from the families Mussidae and Lobophylliidae.

A Lithoscaptus sp. is a possibility, but the above isn't quite right either (the closest Lithoscaptus species I know at the moment is L. semperi, and it's off too). Similarly, a Xynomaia sp. is a possibility, but I haven't found one that fits.

Also, not right on color but neotroglocarcinus hongkimgensis, the Hong Kong gall crab has a similar body shape, anything in that family a possibility?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Only two species are currently accepted in the Neotroglocarcinus genus, and it's not either of them. Again, there's a good chance that the crab is a gall crab (i.e. from the taxonomic family Cryptochiridae), but I'm not familiar with the species at the moment if it is.

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Only two species are currently accepted in the Neotroglocarcinus genus, and it's not either of them. Again, there's a good chance that the crab is a gall crab (i.e. from the taxonomic family Cryptochiridae), but I'm not familiar with the species at the moment if it is.

Of course. Is it likely that this one was solitary or could there be more? I'll see if i can find a match

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Of course. Is it likely that this one was solitary or could there be more? I'll see if i can find a match

I would assume it's solitary, but there may be another; they only host on specific corals, so checking your LPS would be a good idea if you're worried you have more.

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

I would assume it's solitary, but there may be another; they only host on specific corals, so checking your LPS would be a good idea if you're worried you have more.

Thankfully I usually keep encrusting LPS, the only "meaty" LPS I keep are my wilsoni and A. pachysepta