Hitchhiker ID

[Valeria]

I found two types of crabs in my Q tank. Any help with Id would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

 

 

[lanman]

I found two types of crabs in my Q tank. Any help with Id would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Need a ruler in the picture - how big are those ugly things? Are they as slow-moving as they look? They look like dust mites on steroids.

 

bob

Edited March 4, 2007 by lanman

[Jager]

the first looks like a very small decorator crab. the shape of the head gives it away. the second one not sure. the large claw and the curvature of it suggests that it may not be a wise choice for the main tank but might be cool to grow out by itself.

[TROLL]

1st look like decorator crab, like Jager said- its' carapace is much alike decorator, maybe baby one.

 

2nd one, I think pea crab (not sure), they eat softies.

[jamesbuf]

They look like something out of the "Alien" movies. Weird.

[Sugar Magnolia]

I'm not too sure about either one seeing as how hitch hiker crabs are generally difficult to get a positive ID on (according to Ron Shimek)...but, LeslieH, who has pretty much taken over the inverrt forum at RC has posted a thread requesting hitch hiker crabs for a genetic research program at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.p...hreadid=1028304

 

I don't trust a crab that has hitch hiked in, unless it was in an acro or in an anemone. I lost a couple of hundred snails over the course of two years to an unknown species of xanthid that had a taste for escargot.