crab ID

[Dr_Tang]

yeah so this guys been in my tank for 2 months and ive only seen him twice...surprised the hell out of me when i saw him for the first time a couple weeks ago...came back from work tonight and saw him on the sand...dead

still not sure what kinda crab he is...dident really touch any corals, cept might have eaten one mushroom...not sure

 

[SnowManSnow]

Not sure about the id.. but the pointy claws make me afraid of him

 

[Dr_Tang]

but the pointy claws make me afraid of him

haha yeah me too...now that i think of it, i think he might have eaten two hermit crabs too 8O

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Looks like a xanthid sp. Not reef safe. I had one in my cube for over a year and could never find it. It easily ate 25+ snails and hads a nasty habit of stealing coral frags to barricade it's hideout. Evil little S***. So glad it's finally gone!

 

[Mihai]

Sorry to burst your bubble: he's not gone, he just molted and you found his former shell. The shell is intact and empty, right? He's now larger and nastier. A couple more molts and he'll clean your tank.
I suggest you try to catch it before it cleans your tank.

Mihai

 

[Dr_Tang]

The shell is intact and empty, right?

nope, it was his entire body...hes dead

 

[Mihai]

So the shell was "full"? Soft and meaty? The shell can remain intact after molting - intact but empty. I have several of those from my beast.

M.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Which is why, when I found my bicolor blenny picking at the carcass in my tank, I pulled it and snapped open a claw or two to check for flesh.