Umm, mind telling me what THIS is??

[SnowManSnow]

So, I found this guy on the mouth of an acan that was turned upside down. I pulled him off and took a picture. He's probably a little more than a quarter inch long.

I've NEVER seen one.

What is it?

 

[SnowManSnow]

no one has a clue?

 

[Scoopy]

no clue but great macro picture. I love when the guys post a bunch of grainy pixels and want an ID.

Sam

 

[SnowManSnow]

Does it classify as a crab?

Water spider haha?

Not a copepod or anything ... is it?

B

 

[Scoopy]

Im gonna say some type of pod at this size.. but could be a baby of something to come. Keep it around in another tank or something?? Would be interesting to see. There are some crazy things in the ocean. How does it act?? slow, fast, crawls, swims?

Sam

 

[SnowManSnow]

It is a very slow mover.. doesn't swim.. kinda moves like a spider.

 

[Scoopy]

slow spider movement sounds more crablike than podlike, most pods move fast.. hmmm... Im still waiting for someone else to chime in. I think EVERYONE is baffled 8O

 

[LeslieH1]

It's a commensal crab in the family Cryptochiridae, in the genus Fizsereneia. These called coral gall crabs because the females settle on corals, causing the corals to grow over them & form galls. I know a researcher who would LOVE to have the critter if you want to get rid of it. You can check out photos & descriptions in this paper which described the genus in 1980:
http://decapoda.nhm.org/pdfs/23267/23267.pdf

Do you know where the acan came from or what species it is?

 

[SnowManSnow]

If it insnt one of these crabs, its the closest guess I've seen.

Im not sure where the animal came from. I'm also not sure where the acan came from..

Something to consider though would be that that particular acan always had health issues. It is almost dead at this point, but I could never get it to REALLY look healthy.

The crab has been dispatched. I had it in qtine and it died after a few days... so I flushed it.

B

 

[Scoopy]

well.. it was cool while is lasted

Sam