Well, I've been setup for about 2 weeks now and I just noticed a new crab crawling out of the rocks. I do have 2 small Mithrax sculptus crabs and had a Sally lightfoot (but haven't seen her for days after she molted). The new crab looks, in build and size, very much like the Mithrax (Emerald green) except it has less hairy legs and a medium brown body with small white spots covering it. it also has red eyes and a beige underside. I tried to snap a photo but it gets shy. I have never sen one in a store or described before. Oh, it is about 1-1/2" and mostly roundish. Any ideas as to the identity?
JA,
I would be very leery of any crab and try to remove it. I didn't see anything like you describe in any of my references but there are zillions of them. The Emeralds and Sally Lightfoots are about the only crabs that are considered less destructive. I've caught my Mithrax eating coralline, Yellow Polyps and just yesterday, saw him chomping on my Tubastrea!!
He's soon to be gone!!
I'd try the baited glass trick and get him out as soon as you can.
Dick
I had the same problem. About three months after I brought home 50# of Gulf of Mexico rock. The tank was doing great. All the creatures were healthy and then I started noticing things like my serpent star was missing an arm, or a clown would disappear. One night with a flourescent light stick and a red filter from a darkroom at work I found him. A half-dollar sized brown nastly looking crab eating the rest of my serpent star. It took me three and a half weeks of frustration to finally remove him. I swore I would kill him slowly. He lived for exactly 18 months in my sump dinning on a weekly meal of frozen shrimp or fish. He became my kids favorite. Go figure.
Thanks for the replies! He seems to always hang out in the same spot during the day and I almost caught him with a srimp on a plastic skewer (he was hanging on and I had a net ready) but the shrimp fell off and he dropped with it and back to the hole with a lot of shrimp! Next time. Strangely enough I have now noticed another little shy crab about 1/2 the size (this new guys about dime size) that is marked more like a Sally Lightfoot but not the same body shape. I only get glimpses of him with the flashlight before he hides away. I hope I don't have an infestation here
Well I finally caught him (Satan) with a glass baited with a scallop in the bottom. He got in and couldn't get out. I now see a much smaller crab but apparently a different variety, brown with striped legs and doesn't have red eyes. I will try to get him too.
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