ID This Hermit Crab

[Gup]

Little help fellow Reefers. My wife and I walked down to the ocean today to collect some salt water for the tank. On the way back, found this little guy in the sand.

Put him/her in a small pail with my water & a couple shrimp pellets. As you can see, he has white claws but he's camera shy, little sucker. But what's really cool is, at some point, some corals set up shop on his shell.

Any ideas what type of crab?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Possible porcelain but need to see more of the crab than its front claws

 

[Isopod80]

Pagurus species. Most likely P. arcuatus. (Flat clawed hermit ) It's primarily an intertidal species. It will venture onto land to forage at times but it will need to be submerged in oxygenated water before long to be comfortable. They breathe through gills. As long as the gills remain moist it will breathe, but will stress if kept shallow long term. The shell is covered in barnacles, not coral. If you decide to keep it in your tank, it will need a selection of new, appropriately sized shells. It's current shell has seen better days.

 

[Isopod80]

Here is P. longicarpus. Another likely candidate. Both species look similar as juveniles but arcuatus will turn a rust brown with age. If the arm section directly behind the claws, "wrist", is considerably longer on one arm than the other, it's P. longicarpus. They practically drag the one arm beneath them as they walk.

 

[Gup]

I have helpful evidence now that I think will help identify this guy.

Overnight last night, I happen to be up like most 70 year old men. I caught Herman zipping around the edges of the pale at a fast rate. I assumed he was trying to get out and couldn't drag his shell with him. Or, he needed air. So I put a piece of filter fiber in so he could get out of the water. Here you get an excellent look at him without his shell. What do you guys think?

I'm thinking I'm going to take him down to the ocean tomorrow because of the info from Iso.

 

[Gup]

 

[Isopod80]

Yup, it's a Pagurus sp. I have one in my tank. They're spazzes. Most active thing in there but fun to watch. Way more active than most other hermits. Perhaps you could offer him another shell first. Herman is a sitting duck if you return him to the beach without a shell.

 

[Gup]

Good Call!

Oh, he's back in his shell. I put the shell on the edge of the pale and he crawled right in

I decided I'm going to take Herman back home tomorrow. Now that he's back in his shell and say goodbye

I later thought maybe barnacles too, because corals really couldn't get this far North. Interesting though most of those barnacles are in a circular position as the shell grew. I'm thinking a lot of different residents took up home inside that shell.

 

[Isopod80]

Is there a reason you can't put him in your tank? My Pagurus is a great little cleaner. I can see from the new video that he's P. longicarpus, very common in the waters of New Jersey.

 

[Gup]

Really!

I have a 55 gal high, so naturally it doesn't have as much floor space as a rectangular 55 gal. And I really don't want to load it up with extra shells because I have two spots I'm going to put down flat Marco Rock and put corals on them, at some point

 

[Isopod80]

55 high is plenty of room. Mine is currently in a 10 gallon nano. You only need to add a couple of appropriate sized shells to the back corner or behind a rock out of sight. He'll have no problem finding them. Shell shops are a dime a dozen in the Wildwood area. Besides, that shell he's in really isn't appropriate for him. Apparently it's the only one he could find. I'd keep the little guy as a tank cleaner. You'll notice his species will often bury themselves in the sand for awhile with just their eyes sticking out. They're great sand sifters as well.

 

[Gup]

I could get a Brazilian shells up on the Wildwood Boardwalk for him. But I have Three Spires of Marco Rock. I have several shelves and tunnels galore. Probably why my kh is so high.

 

[Gup]

I lost a Diamondback several weeks ago for some reason. Right now, I have a Yellow Watchman Goby on the way

 

[Isopod80]

He'll stay on the bottom mostly and scavenge. Mine rarely climbs onto the rocks. Nothing like the blue legs that stay on the rocks nearly 24/7. He'd do fine in there. When my lights come on tomorrow I'll try and get you a picture of my guy.

 

[Gup]

Cool

 

[Isopod80]

Not sure how well you can see him but here he is under the red light. Same species as Herman.

 

[Gup]

Not sure how well you can see him but here he is under the red light. Same species as Herman.

Oh, I can see him quite nicely under the red lights. Looks like a cousin to my Herman.

 

[Isopod80]

Yup, these guys are found intertidally from Maine to here in Florida as well as the Gulf Of Mexico. Being a shallow water species, they're not strangers to the warmer temps. in a reef tank. Tough little guys.

 

[Gup]

Yup, these guys are found intertidally from Maine to here in Florida as well as the Gulf Of Mexico. Being a shallow water species, they're not strangers to the warmer temps. in a reef tank. Tough little guys.

Well, I guess Herman can I put his parka one before he goes back tomorrow. And I'll pick up two more gallons of sea water. Whenever we go down to the beach, I take my 2 empty gallon bottles with me.

I'm thinking that little extra effort has come in handy Garrett I put Herman into that pail and I never thought of acclimating him. So I must have done something right with this nine-month-young system

 

[Gup]

You're in Florida, I'm in Jersey. Just looked at the clock and we're up a little late. Not an issue for me because I'm 70. lol