Crab ID help please!

[Francesca Evans]

Hi there! I'm very new to this and we are just starting out with our first reef tank. All going well so far and this weekend we brought home a piece of live rock / coral with a sponge /mushroom thing on it (told you we were beginners!). I've noticed this really cute crab ducking in and out of a hole on the rock and was really excited - until I started reading about how this is usually a bad thing! He's tiny, only about 1cm wide leg span. He can't cause any trouble... Can he?! Pic is of his perfect little moult! Any help gratefully received

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

to RS ! at his size he won't do much...

Here a fun read... though a long one, after reading it you will see some love crabs others not

Crabs Are Evil Society

They are not "evil" they just do as designed, eat things, like snails, which are great for CUC (clean up crew)

If I were to guess from your pic (so many kinds of crabs) I guess maybe a common gorilla crab

 

[Uncle99]

Trouble....not now....but he will grow up....then trouble....yes....

Crabs are opportunistic, if they can catch it, they will eat it.

This includes the tasting of corals, the escargot kitchen, and night mauruading.

For fish, hard to sleep when there's a killer on the lose.

Since There are somewhere in the neighborhood of 4000 species, I ban them all to be safe, then all my fish have a " reef sanctuary" a place to live and thrive peacefully.....

 

[Francesca Evans]

Thanks guys, he's so little and timid it seems amazing to think he'll become a predator. I've messaged the shop to see if they want him back in case people actually have these in their tanks in purpose! Otherwise I was thinking of making some kind of reverse refugium to keep him in within the tank, for their safety rather than his! I get that it's the natural order of things but really don't want him decimating the tank. Seems unfair on him to just squash him, but not sure life in a refugium would be great considering how big he'll get. Thanks very much for your replies

 

[Uncle99]

Keep in mind that “trouble’ is simply my experience.
Many reef keepers have no issues, depends on what you keep
For me, just too much $ in fish and corals to take any risk whatsoever, and since there’s no requirement for them, I just opt out.
In addition, this last rebuild was to allow a “sanctuary” peaceful coexistence members only.
Watch carefully, there may be more.

 

[DaveK]

A lot of people put them if a refugium, provided you have a large one. I wouldn't keep it in the tank as gorilla crab are preditory. Sometimes your only alternative is to kill them.