I need help identifying this little turd

[Ian bergevin]

 

[DSC reef]

Possibly a gall crab?

 

[Ian bergevin]

This guy hitched a ride on a open brain coral and it died soon after I plucked him off. I thought it was a crab at first but getting a closer look I'm stumped

 

[Ian bergevin]

Possibly a gall crab?

are they considered a pest?

 

[DSC reef]

Yes, being that it came in on a brain coral a gall crab is fitting. They bore into corals and live in them. They can irritate and kill there hosts.

 

[Ian bergevin]

that explains that

 

[Mikedawg]

+ 1 They live inside corals and I assume you found this on one of yours? Very hard to get rid of I understand. Seems like coral dips don't kill them, so maybe superglue over their entrance/exit

 

[Ian bergevin]

lol I"m thrilled that when you buy a large coral you also buy other peoples problems

 

[JHuneke]

Def a coral gall crab.. they live in burrows in coral skeletons and can irritate corals. Had one a few years back, now I check all my lps

 

[Ian bergevin]

does dipping work or are you SOL?

 

[Mikedawg]

lol I"m thrilled that when you buy a large coral you also buy other peoples problems

Think of it as "adding diversity" to your reef tank and you'll feel better, lol.

 

[Ian bergevin]

 

[Mikedawg]

does dipping work or are you SOL?

Might give you some ideas for removal; I would definitely try gluing them as well.

 

[JHuneke]

Dipping didn’t kill mine.. I had to dig it out and kill it with fire ;p or flush it.. ya I prob flushed it. But it was dug in tight.. got it out and it had a batch of eggs on its belly [emoji51]

 

[Ian bergevin]

I was embarrassed to even post that pic, I'm a better reefer than that, I got some bad water and it dam near destroyed my tank with hair algae. Ya I'm going to bet there is one more on the other side I need to pull out without killing it, thanks for the info.