Hitchhiker crab id

[Ricksreeefs]

Thanks guys!

 

[mantisreefer]

Looks like a squat lobster, reef safe! I could be wrong though wait for other replies!

 

[Ricksreeefs]

Looks like a squat lobster, reef safe! I could be wrong though wait for other replies!

Thanks! He doesn’t have a lobster tail though.

 

[Tired]

I don't think it's a squat lobster, the claws are too short and it has the wrong number of limbs. Squat lobsters don't have long tails, though, they're a different animal.

Looks kinda like a tiny decorator crab to me? But those should be decorated. Maybe something more like a mime crab.

Keep it. It's harmless at this size. Theoretically it could get large, but if it starts getting big, you can just catch it out again.

 

[mantisreefer]

Thanks! He doesn’t have a lobster tail though.

Just noticed that, very cool little crab. Hopefully someone knows what it is!

 

[Ricksreeefs]

I don't think it's a squat lobster, the claws are too short and it has the wrong number of limbs. Squat lobsters don't have long tails, though, they're a different animal.

Looks kinda like a tiny decorator crab to me? But those should be decorated. Maybe something more like a mime crab.

Keep it. It's harmless at this size. Theoretically it could get large, but if it starts getting big, you can just catch it out again.

Thanks! I don’t think he’s a decorator bc like you said he’s not decorated and two he doesn’t look hairy. I looked up mine crab and they just don’t really look the same. I would put him in I’m just worried I can’t get him out. He grabs on to everything with a strong grip. It took be five minutes to get him out of a tiny frag container, I can’t imagine how long it would take me to get him out of my 25.

 

[Tired]

He'll be easier to get out if he starts getting bigger, you can just grab him. Plus, in my super scientific opinion, he doesn't give off the vibe of a crab that's going to get large.

Do you have a sump or anything else you could put him in?

He looks pretty similar to a decorator, just a smooth decorator. Maybe a relative.

 

[Ricksreeefs]

Here’s another pic. I have a small hob refuge I could maybe put him in if you think that it would be big enough.

 

[Tired]

Yeah, probably. Most crabs don't need too much moving space, they just need a place to hide, some space to move a little, and some food. Pop him in the fuge, make sure he gets a pellet or some frozen food whenever you feed the rest of the tank, give him a shell or something to hide under, and see what he does.

I am 95% certain that's either a decorator crab or very closely related to them. Maybe he just needs time to find something he wants to decorate with.

 

[SaltyT]

Those mandibles look like they could be fish catchers when this crab gets bigger. I agree with popping him in the fuge.

 

[Goaway]

Oyster crab, maybe?

 

[Goaway]

Looks like a spider crab of some sorts.

 

[Ricksreeefs]

Looks like a spider crab of some sorts.

Yeah that’s what I’m thinking. I went to petco because I’ve heard people getting crazy pretty/cheap corals half dead and the reviving them from there. does petco get them straight from the ocean? Maybe it a baby spider and will grow to be huge?

 

[Goaway]

Petco coral is mostly from a harvester and not say like wwc for example. So yes. Pretty wild corals and tons of hitch hikers.

 

[Tired]

Be really careful with quarantine if buying wild-caught corals. Can get some nasty diseases that way.

Those mandibles look like they could be fish catchers when this crab gets bigger. I agree with popping him in the fuge.

I don't think crabs have mandibles. The pointy bits are antennae. Did you mean the claws? I'd agree that pretty much any crab can be dangerous to fish if it gets large enough, with the possible exception of the really solid, slow-moving ones. I don't think a stone crab can catch a fish, for example.

 

[Ricksreeefs]

Be really careful with quarantine if buying wild-caught corals. Can get some nasty diseases that way.


I don't think crabs have mandibles. The pointy bits are antennae. Did you mean the claws? I'd agree that pretty much any crab can be dangerous to fish if it gets large enough, with the possible exception of the really solid, slow-moving ones. I don't think a stone crab can catch a fish, for example.

Oh I didn’t qt the coral he’s already in the tank should I put him into a different one? And I found out what crab it is! It’s a White-v hydroid crab. With no record of anyone successfully keeping one in an aquarium. So let’s see if I will be able to! I put him in my 3.5 gal refuge type tank that only grows cheato. Oh and he only gets about 1 inch. Thanks guys!

 

[SaltyT]

Be really careful with quarantine if buying wild-caught corals. Can get some nasty diseases that way.


I don't think crabs have mandibles. The pointy bits are antennae. Did you mean the claws? I'd agree that pretty much any crab can be dangerous to fish if it gets large enough, with the possible exception of the really solid, slow-moving ones. I don't think a stone crab can catch a fish, for example.

They do indeed have mandibles and maxillae

 

[Tired]

It'd probably be best to pull the coral and, at the very least, closely inspect it and dip it. If it's got anything on it, hopefully that stuff isn't in the tank yet. In future, don't put anything from Petco directly into your tank, everything should be quarantined first.
Ideally don't buy from them at all- their care standards for animals are horrible. They don't bother to take proper care of half their livestock. I've seen tiny baby dart frogs for sale at a Petco with crickets in there, which is stressful and potentially dangerous to the frogs. When I pointed it out to an employee, they said they hadn't gotten any care information for the dart frogs that had been delivered to the store, and hadn't been given any food suitable for the poor things. Petco has a lot of disease running around their stores, plus a lot of neglect in most places, and they give terrible advice and sell things like a half-gallon betta tank you can divide to put 3 bettas in it. The company doesn't care at all about the animals they sell, just about profit, and I don't trust them to only get wild-caught corals from sustainable sources.

A one-inch crab should be perfectly harmless to most aquarium life. The 3.5gal is probably good so you can make sure to target-feed him. Make sure he gets enough to eat, and if he'll do well on a typical omnivore diet, he should be fine.

Interesting animal. When I looked them up online, I found a picture of one with much longer prongs/antennae.

Ah, right, crabs have all the fancy little mouthparts. I'll rephrase; I don't think crabs have mandibles that are visible from above.

 

[SaltyT]

Oh I didn’t qt the coral he’s already in the tank should I put him into a different one? And I found out what crab it is! It’s a White-v hydroid crab. With no record of anyone successfully keeping one in an aquarium. So let’s see if I will be able to! I put him in my 3.5 gal refuge type tank that only grows cheato. Oh and he only gets about 1 inch. Thanks guys!

I do believe you’re right! It sure does look like Hyastenus borradailei. Very little info about this guy so keep us posted on how he does. Very cool!

 

[GHOSTLY]

Here’s another pic. I have a small hob refuge I could maybe put him in if you think that it would be big enough.

It looks similar to a kelp crab but its not. Based on the long nose and body shape I'm gonna say a "Special boi"