Rick Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 I was peering into my tank a couple of hours ago and discovered this inside my pagoda cup. At first it just looked like some detritus built up but then it began moving albeit slow. When I was taking it out it latched on pretty good and took a bit of persuasion to knock it loose. It is hairy and sort of a translucent tan color with a yellow/orange color in the middle of the body. The Pincers are quite small and I can't tell if the are pointed or not. Anyone know what this is? And is is safe to put back in the tank or should I feed it to the trigger or eel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted September 9, 2009 Author Share Posted September 9, 2009 I also should have mentioned that this thing is only about 5/8" across. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USCG CWO Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 Rick looks like a teddy bear crab, not good. I would feed it to the eel. Shane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted September 9, 2009 Author Share Posted September 9, 2009 Anyone else? I can't find any pictures of the Teddy Bear crabs that look like this. It's got hair on it but it isn't thick like the pictures I can find and the pincers are also quite a bit smaller. I also am finding conflictiing opinions on whether the Teddy Bear crabs are good or bad. This has to have been in my tank for at least several weeks (The last thing I added that it could have been in was about 4 weeks ago when I added a couple of LR pieces) and could very well have been in there for 3 to 6 months. Unfortunately I really couldn't tell if it was eating Detritus or the Pagoda Cup. I'm more inclined to believe the former since the tentacles were closed up tight. If I can't positively figure out what it is I'll err on the side of caution but I would hate to get rid of something if it's actually beneficial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USCG CWO Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 Hey Rick I am still saying it looks like something in the xanthid crab family. If it was me I wouldn't take any chances, but that is just me. Shane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted September 9, 2009 Author Share Posted September 9, 2009 Not planning to take any chances unless I can positively ID the thing. It's just kind of annoying not being able to find anything on this particular one in any of the hitchhiker lists and judging by the response not too many people have seen this particular one. I know it can't be too harmful or it could have wreaked a lot of havoc in the time it's been there unseen. I've also found some information saying that some of thse crabs a re commensural and will actually benefit the corals they host. If it was actually caring for the Pagoda Cup then that would be a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted September 10, 2009 Author Share Posted September 10, 2009 Well, I'm still curious to figure out exactly what it was. Rather than take a chance I let the trigger have it as a snack though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 Try on nano-reef.com They have great crab HH id people Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLaForce Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 Holy crap that's a gorilla crab! Get rid of it! Not good at all for your tank!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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