Mystery Crab Alert!!

[dbati]

Over 3 months in and I’m still finding unknown critters at night. I need help identifying this crab. I’ve never seen a crab like this with such long antennae. It is really little and only comes out at night.

P.S. I apologize for the shaky camera work. I had a flashlight in one hand and the camera in the other.

 

[DaJMasta]

Do the mouth parts look like feathers or very thin combs? If so, it's sort of got the body profile of a porcelain crab, which is a reef safe filter feeder. Haven't seen one with that coloration, though, and if it's actually munching on the substrate, I've never seen an average porcelain crab do that.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Doesn't look hairy or black tips in the pinchers. So that's good. Lol.
I think u can rule out gorilla crab.
D

 

[dbati]

Doesn't look hairy or black tips in the pinchers. So that's good. Lol.
I think u can rule out gorilla crab.
D

Yeah it’s very thin. And not hairy at all.

 

[dbati]

Do the mouth parts look like feathers or very thin combs? If so, it's sort of got the body profile of a porcelain crab, which is a reef safe filter feeder. Haven't seen one with that coloration, though, and if it's actually munching on the substrate, I've never seen an average porcelain crab do that.

I can’t really tell. I want to say yes but he doesn’t look to be combing the water column at all.

 

[dbati]

Bumping the thread

 

[Uncle99]

Depends on what’s in my tank.
With expensive corals, out of more than 4,000 species, I trust none. Virtually all are opportunistic. They eat what they can catch.
Play it safe.

 

[youcallmenny1]

He's a cutey but all crabs are jerks. When in doubt, take it out.

 

[Cantusaurus]

Depends on what’s in my tank.
With expensive corals, out of more than 4,000 species, I trust none. Virtually all are opportunistic. They eat what they can catch.
Play it safe.

Except Acropora (Trapezia species) crabs! They’re super beneficial to branching SPS. Also anemone crabs are definitely reef safe

 

[jabberwock]

He is cute, and appears to be hard at work, but I am in the "all crabs are bad" camp.